Comets (Meteor Garden 2018)
by Poppiness
Summary: Katie Wu is an original character created to shake things up a bit in Meteor Garden (2018). The sequence of events follows the TV show closely but there is no need to watch the TV series to understand this story. NB. This is my first attempt at fan fiction - please pardon any un-fanfiction-like etiquette
1. Chapter 1

Katie Wu peered over the wall that flanked the flight of stairs she was taking to her third class. A commotion below had drawn her attention. This was what it looked like: there were two girls staring frightfully at a boy who looked like his head and hair had been redecorated with fruitcake. He was frozen in his steps halfway up the steps. He was accompanied by three boys behind him.

One of the girls, the one with a low ponytail, apologised profusely as she went up to the boy hurriedly. She mumbled something else then started dusting away the cake crumbs and cream on his coat. In one quick movement, he brushed her aside like an insect, so hard that she hit the wall and crumbled in a heap on the ground. The girl started to whimper as her friend, the short-haired one, reached out to help her then told the boy off for being mean and obnoxious.

Before she even knew what she was doing, Katie raised her textbook of 264 pages over the raised wall, aimed it above the boy's head and released the hard cover book. It made contact with his head with such a loud thud she was surprised herself. She knew it was too late to take it back now so she raced down the steps just as he was recovering from the impact. He was a tall fellow so she had to leave two steps between them to meet him at eye level.

"Leave them alone, you obnoxious prick," Katie said to him matter-of-factly. He glowered at her while seething through his teeth. His head must hurt. "Your head wouldn't have hurt as much if you bothered to look up once in a while instead of down at others."

Despite his momentary concussion, the boy wasn't wavered by her words. Not a bit. At least, that was what she was thinking when he was glowering at her still. She was not expecting the next thing he did. He grabbed the nape of her neck in one hand, yanked her forward to meet him closer at eye level their noses were almost touching, and growled at her, "You've got guts." With that he released his hold on her and continued on his way.

Katie rubbed her sore neck from the death grip earlier and caught a glance of the remaining three boys who followed their leader as if nothing had happened. The last one, who looked like a daydreamer of sorts, picked up a soiled card from the floor and handed it to the short-haired girl. He said nothing and caught up to the rest, disappearing around the corner.

"Thank you for standing up for us," the short-haired girl said to her. "That was embarrassing." Katie helped her help her friend to her feet. The girl with the ponytail was still badly shaken.

"Never mind that." Katie said. "Are the both of you okay?" They nodded. She reached down to pick up her textbook and dusted off the fruitcake crumbs adhered to the bottom side of the book. "That's good. I have to go now - I'm late for class. Stay out of trouble." She started to walk up the steps again.

"Hey," one of them called out to her and she spun around. It was the short-haired girl. "I'm Dong Shancai. This is my friend, Li Zhen. What's your name?" Shancai had the most soulful eyes - the kind which Katie felt would be criminal if she rejected her offer of acquaintance.

"Katie," she said. "Katie Wu." The girls nodded, smiling.

She hurried up the steps as quickly as she could. She was a whole fifteen minutes late! Then she stopped abruptly in her steps and peered over the wall again at the girls who were attempting to pick up the remains of the ruined cake. "By the way," Katie said and Shancai looked up again with those eyes. "Who was that with the fruitcake bomb on his head?"

"His name is Daoming Si."

* * *

Katie soon found out that Daoming Si was a person of significance in this part of the hemisphere. He was heir to the Daoming Investment Group, which was ranked one of the wealthiest families and companies in Shanghai, if not all of China. Google results couldn't come to a consensus. At Ming De University, together with best mates, Huaze Lei, Feng Meizuo and Ximen Yan, they were collectively known as "F4" and dominated the game of Bridge, winning awards every year since they formed the Bridge Club as freshmen. They were basically superstars on campus and MDU's pride and joy. No one messed with them. Ever.

"At Bridge, he has a reputation for being ruthless, cunning and extremely aggressive. He never takes prisoners and never loses." Katie read his spiel in the results of her search for his student profile. "He takes his challengers down without remorse and drives them six feet under, so to speak." She raised one eyebrow at this sentence and felt herself stifle an awkward laugh manifesting as a cough. "This is ridiculous," she muttered under her breath. "No one is that good. At cards."

She didn't want to read the rest of the profiles on his friends. His alone was sickening. What a load of rubbish. She shut her Macbook and looked at her oversized wristwatch: almost time for her first class. She rose from the rust-coloured bench in the campus courtyard and walked to her locker. She put in the access code and opened it. As she reached in to retrieve her textbook, she noticed a foreign object in there which she had never seen before: a clear thin-glassed Joker card with an "F4" print incorporated on the card. She tugged it free from the ceiling of her locker and examined it this way and that, puzzled.

She then distinctively heard some quiet chatter behind her. "She's got the Joker card!" one person whispered loudly. "What did she do?" another girl wondered aloud. "She's dead, for sure." Ominous.

_Wonderful_, she thought. _I'm in trouble on my third day._ She heaved a big sigh. _Well, I don't know what this means and I still have class so … _She walked to the nearest bin and was about to toss the card into it when someone grabbed her wrist. It was definitely a man's hand judging by the size of it. She traced it back to its owner and he was furious.

"What do you think you're doing?" Daoming Si barked at her, his hand still wrapped around her wrist. He was taller than she imagined now that they were on levelled ground, with a chiselled face, pale complexion and that ridiculous hairstyle Katie had never seen on anyone else in her life. She couldn't even begin to describe it. "I gave you that card for a reason. How dare you throw it out? It's a privilege."

Katie saw that her hand was turning into an unhealthy shade of purple and yanked her hand out of his grasp. "That hurts!" she told him. He smirked like he didn't care. "I don't know what this card means and frankly, I don't care. If it's so important to you, here," she tucked it neatly into the breast pocket of his coat and patted it twice firmly. "You can have it back. Goodbye." She spun on her heel and walked off in the direction of her class. The day was too early for crazy.

* * *

Later that day, during lunch, Katie bumped into Shancai. Or rather, Shancai collided into Katie at the cafeteria. Shancai was on edge, not like the calm and collected person Katie met the day before. They grabbed some lunch from the cafeteria and Katie was led to a building's rooftop for "a chat". The thought that Shancai might push her off the rooftop did cross her mind momentarily so Katie made sure to stand as far away from the ledge as possible. Just in case.

Shancai was relaxed as soon as they got up there though. She started munching on her burger. "So you have it too?" Shancai asked. "The Joker card."

"Not anymore," Katie replied and sat down next to her, starting on the yoghurt cup. "I was going to throw it away but then I gave it back to him."

"Why?" Shancai was curious and confused. "How?"

"He stopped me just as I found a bin and it seemed important so I gave it back." Katie was starting to think everyone on this campus was insane. It was a Joker prop card. _What's the big deal?_ she wondered. "Wait, he said it was a privilege. Why?"

"You don't know." Shank finished her burger and dusted her hands. "That card is an invitation from F4 to a game of Bridge with them. In this case, probably just Daoming Si because he's the one with a problem with us."

"Us?" Katie asked. "Who's us?"

Shancai pointed at herself then Katie. "I have a card too," she said. "They hand one out when they feel that someone is 'worthy'." She wagged two fingers on each hand simultaneously to emphasise the word. "Because, apparently, EVERYONE wants to challenge their power, strength, status, etc. on this campus. Or so I've heard." She rolled her eyes.

"That's ridiculous!" Katie exclaimed, finishing her yoghurt. "I don't have time for this. I'm only here for a year and I can't afford to be stuck playing mind or card games with a lunatic." She got up.

"It will happen anyway," Shancai said. "We just don't know when. It's for them to decide." She stretched her arms as far as they would go. "In the meantime, this rooftop is ours so we can curse them."

"Curse them?" Katie didn't follow. Shancai was remarkably adorable but she also seemed unpredictable. Before Katie could stop her, Shancai began yelling a string of funny and unusual curses at the F4 members into thin air, and Katie laughed along until Shancai paused because she had run out of curses.

Then, an unexpected voice interrupted them. "What else?"

Shancai and Katie gasped when they saw him. He was tall, lanky, fair-skinned and had a mob of wavy brown hair but he had the softest eyes and lips. Katie recognised him as one of the F4 members, the last one of the pack, the one who picked up the card and gave it to Shancai on the first day they met.

"H-huaze Lei," Shancai stuttered unsurely. "What are you doing here?" Her eyes shifted in all directions. Katie couldn't tell if she was scared, nervous, shy or something else.

He had a stoic face but with his supermodel good looks, it didn't matter. "This is my rooftop," he said. No emotions. "Well, it was until you showed up and started cursing my friends and I." Katie bit her lip. This was awkward. "But I'm curious. What happens after the hair in our noses grow so long they touch the floor?" He was definitely the odd one.

"I-I haven't given it further thought," Shancai replied and lowered her gaze to the ground. "Sorry you had to hear that." Then she blushed.

_Sorry? Why is she sorry?_ Katie wondered. _Wasn't she just freely cursing all of them just now? What changed?_ On the other hand, she could see that this Huaze Lei was no threat and she was running late for her next class so she put the rest of her lunch into her gym bag and slung it over her shoulder. "Well, it was nice having lunch with you, Shancai," Katie said quickly then looked at Huaze Lei. "Sorry about your rooftop."


	2. Chapter 2

The next day, Katie heard the news: Dong Shancai had given Daoming Si a kick to the face that morning. It was all that everyone on campus would talk about. There were hundreds of comments on social media about it. Phones were pinging notifications all along the corridors, the cafeteria, the courtyard, every where.

But Katie didn't have time to stop for any of it. She had dance practice before and after lunch, three hours each time, that day. By the time she was finished at about 4pm that Thursday, she was exhausted and ready to go to bed without dinner. Her dance instructors at Ming De were insanely hardcore - they didn't care for muscle fatigue, cramps or rest. It was six whole hours of ballet today - she swore she could not feel her legs. She was surprised she could walk at all.

_Oh great, only another hour of commuting home,_ she thought to herself, dreading the public transport. As she walked out the doors of the building, she was greeted by two men in suits. "Miss Wu, please come with us," one of them said. "Master Daoming Si wants to meet with you." Katie was about to refuse politely, then realised she was in no condition to make a run for it. "Please come this way." She followed them to a black Mercedes and slid into the backseat.

It must have been about 20 minutes before she arrived at a huge mansion. She was ushered in then she followed a well-dressed middle-aged man further into the house. Katie was trying to make out a mental map of the place in case she had to escape but it was massive inside with many corridors and rooms, the map in her head was all messed up. She gave up. She would just jump out the first window she saw if she had to.

She was subsequently shoved into a room and standing in the middle of the room was Shancai. She was dolled up - her hair, her make up, her dress, her shoes. "Hi," she said with a small wave with a few fingers. She seemed embarrassed to be seen in this situation. "How are you here?" But she looked adorable, like a doll.

Katie shrugged. "Honestly, I don't know. I was kidnapped here." She saw a comfy couch. "But my legs are killing me after dance practice so I'm just going to take this seat here …" she was about to plant her bottom onto the expensive-looking upholstery when the door burst open and she sprung up again.

Daoming Si. Ouch, both her quadricep muscles hurt. When he saw her, he looked surprised. He turned to the middle-aged man. "Why isn't she dressed up like the other one?" He pointed at Katie.

"She just arrived. We didn't have time to prepare her." He must be the head of housekeeping, or whatever it was that wealthy people could afford to have at their beck and call.

Shancai stormed up to him and got straight to the point. "Why did you bring me here?" She stopped. "I mean, us. Why did you bring us here?" He ignored her and walked across the room to land himself a seat quite comfortably. Darn him, Katie thought, feeling sorry for her muscles.

"You're both here because one of you …" he wagged his long thin finger at the both of them lazily. "… could be my next girlfriend."

"Excuse me," Katie interrupted. "What?"

He stifled a laugh like he thought the girls were stupid. "If you're obedient, I'll let one of you be my girlfriend." Katie's jaw dropped. "The perks are great. No matter where I go, you can stand within a metre radius of my presence. When I eat, you can sit with me. More importantly, you can look me up anytime you want to be with me. I can take you to and fro from campus once a week. I'll provide you with good food on campus. I can help with homework if you need. We can go to the best restaurant in Shanghai on your birthday. When we play games, I'll do my best to let you win. We'll take an overseas trip once a year together. And for Shancai, of course, I can replace your broken mobile phone in a heartbeat."

The most deafening pause ensued the room. "So who would like to have the honour?" He asked confidently.

The girls looked at each other in disbelief and Katie was first to break the silence. "Look, I've had enough of crazy for a week, but this really tops the cake," she said. "Daoming Si, what you've said was absolutely absurd on two counts. One, thanks for offering to help me with homework but what do you know about dance history. Or dance, for that matter. Two, I have no desire to be associated with a narcissist like you. Not lunch. Not travelling. Not anything." His face fell, looking both confused and furious at the same time. "Thanks, but no thanks." She tightened her grip on the strap of her gym bag. "I have to get home." She glanced at Shancai on the way out. "Good luck." She mouthed to her.

As she walked away, leaving Shancai in the jaws of Daoming Si, she heard Shancai telling him to take his crazy talk elsewhere and return her change of clothes. She smiled to herself and kept on walking out of the mansion. Bed without dinner sounded amazing.

* * *

Katie hadn't seen Daoming Si or Shancai for a few days after that incident. She had been diligently making an effort to not be late for classes again after a few warnings for disrupting class or dance practice last week. Today's class after lunch was cancelled because the lecturer was ill so she decided she would spend it in the cafeteria and enjoy an actual meal, not just yoghurt and snacks.

When she walked in, the first people she noticed were Daoming Si and his posse sitting in a corner booth. There was also a girl in the group Katie hadn't seen before but she seemed very familiar with the boys. Daoming Si was preoccupied so Katie decided she would quickly get food and slide into a window booth, out of sight. She didn't want to be disturbed today.

She ordered fish and chips, and an orange juice. As Katie was making payment, she saw Shancai and her friend, a boy, walk in. She seemed agitated and flustered. "Hey," Katie greeted in a low voice. "Are you okay?"

Shancai literally just noticed her there and was surprised. "Katie," she said. "I'm fine, I'm fine. I'm just …" she darted her gaze in Daoming Si's direction and Katie sneaked a peek. Daoming Si was looking their way now and he didn't look happy. "I'm just going to go somewhere else to eat. Sorry, Katie." She took her tray and spun around to walk away but collided with a big burly student instead. She fell onto the ground and rubbed her right wrist.

"What the …" the student said rudely. "Watch where you're going, stupid." And he stormed off to the men's room.

Katie scoffed in disbelief. The amount of manners around her was unbelievably non-existent. There were rich bullies like Daoming Si and there were regular bullies like Dickhead over there. What kind of institution was this? Bully U?

In that split second before she could get down to help Shancai, Daoming Si had already made his way over to them and stooped down to meet Shancai at eye level. "So is this what you meant by being with Chen Qinghe? I hope you are 100, 1000 or even 10,000 times happier with him than with me." He words cut deep. Katie suspected she had missed a few memos between Daoming Si and Shancai over the past few days.

Then Huaze Lei appeared and promptly helped Shancai to her feet. "That's enough," he said without emotion. "Are you done picking on her?" He took her hand and was about to lead her away when Daoming Si grabbed the other hand.

"Lei," Daoming Si said. "You can't possibly like this crazy girl." Huaze Lei didn't say anything. "If you're my friend, let go."

"No." And Daoming Si reluctantly released the hand he was holding while still fuming. Huaze Lei took Shancai out of the cafeteria with the girl, who was with them at the booth, following behind.

Katie had had enough of his bullshit. "Daoming Si," she almost yelled and grabbed a fistful of the collar of his white coat. "Come over here." Before he could react, she had dragged him haphazardly out onto the lawn of the campus courtyard. She released him and copped another one of his murderous looks. She ignored him.

"What gives?" he growled and straightened out his collar and coat.

"I don't know what's happened between you and Shancai in the past few days and honestly, I don't care because it's irrelevant to your behaviour." She looked him square in the eye. "But that …" she pointed at the cafeteria. "… was the worst way you could treat a girl: publicly humiliating her. If she even had a slither of good feelings for you, it's all gone now."

Daoming Si laughed. "I just reminded her what she told me, which was that she was happier with her lame friend, Qinghe, than to having anything to do with me. I was just proving a point."

"Oh grow up!" Katie practically shrieked in exasperation and waved her hands frantically in his face. That seemed to surprise him. "Don't be so immature. What are you, seven years old?" She glared him square in the eye again. "Listen to me. If you want to make this right and stand a chance at all with Shancai, and to prove you have some decency as a gentleman, go apologise to her and stop aggravating her."

He didn't respond as if defeated. "If she doesn't like me, there's always you."

It was Katie's turn to be surprised. "Daoming Si," she started in the calmest voice she could muster but she was boiling on the inside. This man-child was beyond hopeless. Honest, but hopeless. "I'm going to make this clear, twice. I'm not interested in you or your girlfriend offer. You're not my type." She looked him up and down once again. "Definitely NOT my type. Besides, girls don't like to know they are second choice to someone else. I suggest you stay focussed and make things right."

She started walking off back to the cafeteria. Now there's only 20 minutes left to gobble down her food. Great.


	3. Chapter 3

"Let's sit here." The voice was familiar.

Katie looked up from her lunch. Daoming Si, Ximen Yan and Feng Meizuo stood in front of her with their lunch trays. Before she could protest, Daoming Si took the seat next to her and the other two boys sat across from them. She sighed internally. These boys didn't take a hint, especially Daoming Si.

He looked over at her lunch tray and screwed his face in disgust. "What ARE you eating?" he scoffed. "There's only vegetables. No meat. What are you, a cow or a goat?"

Katie closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Daoming Si was undeniably the most aggravating person she has ever met in her life. Every time she thought she understood his level of weird, it was possible for him to be weirder. "Neither," she replied. "I was late to lunch so this was all they had. Don't criticise my food - you'll hurt their feelings." And she shoved a cherry tomato in her mouth quickly.

"Did you see the video of Shancai kissing me in Sanya gone viral on the Internet?" he asked gleefully. The other two boys were pleasantly quiet.

"You mean the one where she accidentally fell on your lips?" Katie said and his face fell a little. The two boys smirked. "Yeah, I saw it. I couldn't miss it if I wanted to. You looked like you had fun."

He was about to retort when two girls walked up to the table and stood in front of Daoming Si. They introduced themselves as classmates of Shancai then started ratting her out for being disrespectful and unfaithful to Daoming Si, claiming that they had video evidence of Shancai and Huaze Lei being intimate on one of their mobile phones. Meizuo tried to see the footage first but they insisted it was for only Daoming Si so he took the phone in annoyance and started watching the footage.

Katie leant over just a bit to see the footage. It was merely Shancai dusting off something on Huaze Lei's hair on the rooftop. It would have been nothing to anyone else except this was Daoming Si, and the girls wouldn't stop rambling on about how inappropriate it was that Shancai kissed Daoming Si in Sanya and here she was getting close with another.

Before Katie could tell them to shut up, Daoming Si beat her to it and he was furious. Katie had seen him furious before on several occasions but he was a whole different level of angry this time. His eyes were frighteningly murderous. He got up from his seat and violently pushed his way through the two girls, storming out of the cafeteria.

The rooftop. Katie suddenly realised that all hell was about to break loose. She quickly grabbed her bag. "You girls should really mind your own goddamn business," Katie growled at them before she hurriedly chased after Daoming Si. She lost him around a corner. Damn his long legs. She thought of the shortest way to the rooftop from the cafeteria and rushed there as fast as she could.

At the top of the stairs, she burst through the door to the rooftop and spotted Daoming Si and Shancai. He had one hand against the wall next to her head while she looked like she was trying to press her entire being into the wall behind her, looking terrified and cowering away from him. He had her cornered and he had crazy in his eyes. The bad kind of crazy.

"Daoming Si!" Katie yelled as she ran up to them and planted herself between the both of them. She faced Daoming Si and looked up at him, into the lunatic's eyes squarely. Their faces were only an inch from each other's. "You need to calm down. You're scaring her. Look at her." His eyes were glazed over and empty.

"Move." He said to her coldly. "I was talking to her."

Katie didn't budge. "This isn't talking," she told him firmly. "This is intimidation. This isn't how you work out your problem." He didn't argue. "Moreover, Shancai is my friend. I won't let you frighten or bully her. This isn't negotiable." She expected him to slap, smack or shove her by now but he didn't move. Katie took a chance and side-glanced at her friend. "Shancai, you need to go. Now."

"But you …" Shancai's voice quivered.

"Just go." Daoming Si said unexpectedly. "Go before I do anything I might regret later. I don't want to hurt you." His body soften a little.

Shancai raced off the rooftop deck quickly and disappeared. Katie backed away into Shancai's spot earlier and leant against the wall with a big sigh of relief. "Daoming Si," she began. "I can see that you like her very much but you need to control that nasty temper of yours. A relationship cannot hold strong if you lose your head at anything anyone tells you about Shancai. Frightening her intimidates her and that will only drive her further away from you. Can you understand that?"

Daoming Si looked the other way, refusing to meet her gaze. He probably heard her but didn't want to acknowledge or admit it. Katie was still leaning against the wall when she turned towards his hand on the wall. She didn't notice before that it was a fist. A fist that was partially embedded in the metal. He must have punched it. Hard.

He finally detached it from the wall and Katie noticed his knuckles were bleeding and severely bruised. Concerned, she took his hand before he could retract it. "You're hurt," she stated. He didn't pull his hand away. "Here, I have something for it." With one hand holding his, she reached into her bag with the other and pulled out a cosmetic bag. "Sit down." She instructed and he obliged. They both sat on the rooftop floor.

"Don't put make up on my hand," Daoming Si said. "I'm not a girl."

Katie rolled her eyes. "It's not make up, stupid." She unzipped the cosmetic bag and pulled out an alcohol wipe and an ointment. "This will sting. Sorry in advance." She applied the alcohol wipe over the bleeding sites. His hand flinched and she saw his face screw up in a wince. "I fall down a lot when I dance so I have this ointment to help with the bruises. That's all." She started applying a generous amount of the ointment onto each knuckle.

"A dancer who falls down a lot …" he said with a smirk. "You're not a very good dancer then." Was he making jokes now? But he was right about one thing.

"No, I'm not," she admitted as she wrapped a dressing around his knuckles. "It's more like an interest. My family expects other things of me so I took up dancing for an escape." She bit her lip. She had said too much.

"I know that feeling," Daoming Si said. "I have to take over the family business when my mother says I'm ready. I can't run from it - she says it's my birthright. That's why I'm learning about stock exchange, so I can prepare myself for the day I quit the family business." He admired Katie's handiwork. He was more relaxed now.

"Don't you want to inherit the family business?" she asked curiously.

Daoming Si shook his head. "It's not a satisfying achievement when you're being given something," he replied. He seemed more normal now. There was no cheekiness, no arrogance, no temper. He was just a normal person. "Wouldn't you think so?" He looked at her with a small unsure smile.

"I don't know what to think," Katie said. "I haven't thought it through that far."

He saw her look at the time. "Do you have to be somewhere?"

"Class." She replied. "And yet again, I've missed most of my lunch." She got up and patted him on the shoulder. "See you around."

* * *

Katie walked out of the studio she had been cooped up in for yet another few hours that day. The instructor finally let her go after grilling her hard about her posture. She had to hold her back so ridiculously straight throughout practice that it felt stiff and fatigue. As usual, after dance practice like this, she just wanted to go home and dive into bed. But she wasn't about to achieve that any time soon, for she saw Daoming Si leaning against her locker that day.

"Hey," she said tiredly. He seemed startled by her voice and presence, as if he didn't expect it. He stood up straight and allowed her to put in the access code to her locker. He was unusually quiet. "Can I help you with something?" Katie finally asked after the longest silence ever between them.

"I … er, I'm …" he muttered and darted his gaze back and forth on the ground. "I need your help. I'm not sure what to do."

"What to do with what?" Katie was trying very hard to focus on the conversation but the silence was deafening and comforting at the same time. If she could, she would very much like to close her eyes and fall asleep right there and then. She was that exhausted.

"Can you please just hear me out without that annoyed tone in your voice?" he asked, with pleading in his voice. It was also sad.

Katie straightened up and looked at him intently. "What's wrong?" she asked him, genuinely concerned. "What is it?" It wasn't like him to behave like this. She was used to this cocky prick strutting and stomping his way around everyone, barking orders and being a self-absorbed narcissist. This version of him was the total opposite.

"I feel … cheated," was what he said before he bowed his head and looked to the ground, or perhaps his fancy shoes, with a heavy sigh. "I don't know what to do or feel. I mean, I feel cheated … and angry, but I don't know what else to do now."

The campus was quiet. It was getting late. There was no one else around except the both of them. Katie groaned on the inside. She really wanted to brush him off and go home. But she didn't want to leave him in a heap like this. She was worried he'd be so fragile he might actually do something stupid to himself, or others. Who knows. "Buy me dinner and I'll hear you out."

He looked at her in bewilderment. "What?"

"Buy me dinner and we'll talk about it," Katie rephrased earnestly. "Then we'll see if you can be salvaged out of whatever situation it is you're in. But hurry, my legs are killing me. You might have to carry me if you're not careful." She tried to make jokes and he only managed a small smile. "Oh, come on, it can't be that bad. Nothing is that bad. Let's go."

They walked together - he was walking; she was almost hobbling the last 10 metres - to his car, a blue BMW. Katie mentally cringed at the shade of blue - it wouldn't be her pick, but it suited Daoming Si just fine. He didn't conform to normal anyway so why would the choice of colour for his car be any different?

Daoming Si opened the front passenger door for her and shut it after she got inside, like a gentleman. It only took him about 5 strides with his stilt-like legs to walk around the bonnet of his car to reach the driver's side and he got in and started it up. He was fairly quiet the whole time, concentrating on the drive to their destination: a fine dining Japanese restaurant in the city centre of Shanghai. Katie had never had time to wander and explore Shanghai since she arrived a month or so ago, so she was gawking at the lights and the bustle on the streets through the window. When they arrived, he helped her out and gave the keys to the parking valet without a word as if he owned the place.

The lady in reception smiled at Daoming Si politely then took one look at Katie and frowned. "I'm sorry, she's not in appropriate attire for entry," she said. "We have a dress code policy here." She politely pointed at a sign on the wall that said, "Dress Code: formal attire only."

Katie quickly gazed down at herself: denim jacket, long-sleeved blouse, black tights and one-inch boots. It really wasn't anywhere close to formal. "Daoming Si, maybe we should go elsewhere."

He held up a hand, nearly smacking her nose. "Could I speak to the manager please?" he asked her nicely. As if on cue, a pudgy man in a suit and gold-rimmed round glasses appeared, smiling eagerly.

"Master Daoming Si, welcome welcome!" the manager said to them then turned to his staff. "He is our most VIP customer so he can bring along whoever he wants, however they may be dressed." The manager looked at her politely and smiled brightly. "Miss, don't worry about the attire - it's just a guideline for everyone else. For Master Daoming Si, anyone is welcomed. Come on in, his usual room is available." He stepped aside and gestured for them to enter the premise.

_Whoa! _Katie thought as she followed the manager with Daoming Si behind her. _That was insane. How does he get that kind of privilege and special treatment? _They took their seats and while Daoming Si made the order, she gazed at him for a bit, out of curiosity. She recalled her third day at Ming De when she was stalking his student profile and Google results. She thought it was an exaggeration but she was starting to think it was all real. At least, most of it.

When the manager finalised the order and left the room, she leant forward. "Okay, tell me what's the problem." If he was buying her this fancy dinner, the least she could do was look interested in his problems.

He started telling her about the photo someone put up on social media of a foreigner taking a selfie photo of himself and Shancai who was asleep in a hotel bed in the background. It went viral and it was receiving a lot of unwanted bad attention. But it was worse. Before the photo went viral, he had seen the foreigner in person on campus before. He was a French guy who was apparently asking Shancai for directions on campus when Daoming Si caught them talking together. Shancai was adamant she didn't know him and the French guy behaved as if they were strangers to each other. So seeing the photo of the both of them later that day only made him feel confused, cheated and at loss of what to do. Shancai had confronted him that day to tell him that she only cared if he believed her but he couldn't bring himself to after her lies.

"And here I thought, now that Huaze Lei is out of the picture, we could stand a chance," he said with clenched fists. "But she did this sort of unforgivable things."

"Oh?" Katie blurted, surprised. "Where is Huaze Lei?"

He looked at her with treacherous eyes. "He's in Paris trying to win his beloved, Jing, back but that's not the point here. Can we focus on me and my problem?"

"Sorry." Katie replied apologetically but he was still such a self-centred child at heart. "So do you believe Shancai or a photo?"

"A photo speaks a thousand words."

"Yeah, but it must also be taken in context. Some are abstract."

"But she didn't have to lie that she didn't know him."

"Maybe she didn't. Maybe he just took the photo."

"In a hotel room? Together?"

"She looked pretty passed out. It's possible she didn't know a photo was taken of her. Or that she was there."

"Who is stupid enough to let herself be taken into a hotel room and have her photo taken?"

"I'm not saying it's stupid on her part but this happens all the time to girls who have been taken advantaged of. Have you considered that? That she was the victim, not the crime."

"Why did she pretend that she didn't know him and lied to my face?"

"Maybe she didn't know him so it isn't a lie if he's the one who took advantage of her."

"It didn't look that way when I approached them. She was flustered and couldn't wait to get rid of him. That was before the photo on social media."

"Good point."

"You're not helping."

"I'm being objective."

"You're supposed to be her friend."

"But you're the one asking me for help and buying me dinner so I can afford to be impartial here. I'm a fair person okay?"

"So what do I do?"

"What do you want to do, Daoming Si?"

"What do you mean?"

"Do you want to believe Shancai or a photo?"

"I want to believe her but …"

"Then believe her."

"But I don't want to be taken for a fool if she's playing me."

"Well, you can't have the best of both worlds. Believing someone means you take on everything. That's what believing is. Even if it means you might crash and burn. But you might not. It's a game of chance when you believe someone."

"What do I do about the photo then?"

"Why does it matter? If you believe her, the photo is nothing. It's just a photo of a guy taking a selfie with Shancai in the background. Who cares?"

Other people do."

"Do you care what other people care about?"

"I'll be a laughing stock if …"

"Daoming Si, since the day I've met you at your most arrogant and obnoxious, you've never cared about what other people think or do. You only ever cared about a few good people including Shancai. So what's changed now? A photo?"

He was silent.

Katie continued. "Daoming Si, it sounds like you are all she cares about. She didn't care if no one else believed her but she told you, word for word, that she only cared if you believed her and not the photo. What other reason could you possibly be searching for to believe her? The girl is literally begging you to believe her."

He was still silent.

"Let's put it this way," she added. "If someone from campus was here tonight and took a photo of us having dinner together and posted it on social media, would you want Shancai to believe you were cheating on her or just having dinner with me?"

He opened his mouth to say something then snapped it shut quickly. Then, he was deep in thought. The food had arrived and she dived right in like a homeless person who hasn't eaten for days. He ate in silence the whole time with impeccable manners. She decided not to interrupt his thoughts, whatever they were. It was a sumptuous dinner and she reminisced when she used to have such cuisine on the rare occasion with her parents in London. When they both had polished off all the food, he settled the bill with his swanky shiny credit card and the valet returned promptly with his car and keys. They both got into the car and drove away.

Katie couldn't believe Daoming Si held his silence for the past 45 minutes. It was unnerving now. As she was about to start to make small talk, he stopped the car and she realised she was home. That was fast. They must have been closer to her home than she thought. She took a hint and let herself out. Before she shut the door, she stooped to the window and asked him, "So what did you decide?"

"I'm going to see her now. Shut the door." He growled and she nudged the door shut quickly.

The Daoming Si she knew was back. The world was right again.


	4. Chapter 4

The next day, Katie spotted Daoming Si and Shancai at the bottom of the campus steps. He was holding something in the air, high above her and she couldn't reach it. It looks like things worked out after all, she thought to herself and started down the steps. Daoming Si was the first to notice her.

"Hey Katie!" he shouted and laughed at the same time. "Look at Shancai. Look at how short she is. She can't reach her phone!" He held the mobile phone in mid-air, well out of her reach. Shancai continued to cry for him to return her the phone.

"Daoming Si," Katie said. "Give it back. Don't be a dick."

Ximen and Meizuo appeared. "From here on," Ximen said matter-of-factly. "There will be no peace." Katie couldn't tell if they were glad or sad. Perhaps a mix of both.

"We are fine, alright?" Daoming Si growled and gave the phone back to Shancai. "Remember to give this back to your mom and use the new one I gave you."

"It's good to see you've made up," a familiar voice joined in. Everyone looked and gasped. It was Huaze Lei. He was as gentle- and stoic-faced as Katie remembered from her previous encounter with him. He walked up to them and held his gaze on Shancai, smiling his small smile.

Daoming Si saw it for sure, because he immediately held Shancai's opposing shoulder and yanked her close to him. "Just so you know, Shancai's my girlfriend now." He declared in a childish manner. Katie rolled her eyes. Something's never change.

"That's a shame." Huaze Lei replied, still looking at Shancai. "We should get together this evening. Bring a friend." He walked away with Ximen and Meizuo behind him.

Katie saw Shancai in a daze, eyes still on Huaze Lei's silhouette in the distance. She quickly nudge her gently just as Daoming Si turned to the both of them. "Katie, I'm taking Shancai on a vacation for the weekend. You should come so she has a friend when I'm not watching her."

Shancai protested first. "Wait a minute," she cried. "I didn't agree to go on a vacation with you." Shancai then turned to Katie. "I don't want to go - please say you won't go." Those adorable eyes.

_ don't want to go_, Katie thought desperately. _I have so much to do! _She caught Daoming Si's face. He was WILLING her to go with them, just so Shancai would go. It would be criminal to turn his favour down after practically telling him to dive senselessly into being with Shancai and he was trying. She couldn't refuse now. "I er …" Katie started reluctantly. "I would really like a vacation if the invitation still stands." She darted a quick gaze at Daoming Si then back at Shancai. "Think of it as going with me instead?" Oh, what on earth was she saying. "Please?" This had to be one of the most humiliating and awkward moments ever. It was totally not her to say things like that.

But it worked. Shancai sighed. "Alright," she said. "I'll go if you go. But only because you want to and I'm not leaving you anywhere near Ximen or Meizuo. They're wolves."

"Wonderful!" Daoming Si exclaimed and clapped his hands. "I'll send the driver to pick you both up tomorrow, bright and early. See you!"

* * *

Bright and early indeed. They were all on a plane headed for somewhere and arrived on a sunny island with a large resort and even larger swimming pools by midday. Katie really struggled to keep up. She had to explain her sudden vacation trip to her guardians, her aunt and her husband, last night and they were very hard to convince for they were worried she didn't even know where the location of this vacation was. When she promised she would call them as soon as she reached wherever it was safely, and every night, until she returned to Shanghai did they relent. Then there was the packing - if they didn't know where they were going, she didn't know to pack warm or cold. It was all very frustrating. And Daoming Si didn't answer his social media texts either. Thanks a lot.

When they checked in at reception, Ximen and Meizuo each had a room with a girl they brought along. Huaze Lei also brought a girl with him. Suffice to say, all the girls were strangers to her and Shancai. Each couple including Daoming Si and Shancai were sharing a room. Katie was the third - no wait, ninth - wheel. She was in a room by herself which, awkward as it was, by this time, she didn't care very much. She was going to sleep through the rest of the day so it suited her just fine.

She retreated to her room. After ringing her guardians to report safety, she took a shower and sank into the firm white-sheeted resort bed. A real vacation started with actual peace, quiet and rest.

She must have been sleeping for a while because when she finally jerked up from her slumber, the room was dark and the room phone was ringing in that irritating alarm way. Groaning, she reached for the phone. "Hello?" she said in a sleepy voice. "This better be urgent. I'm on a vacation!"

"Katie, is Shancai with you?" It was Daoming Si. He was panicked. Before she could answer, he went on. "I just woke up and she isn't in the room! We have to find her - I'm coming over to your room right now with the rest of the guys." The line went dead.

Wait, what? She was trying to get her thoughts collected. Half her brain was still sleeping. Then there was relentless pounding on her door. OH MY GOD! She wanted to scream. This guy was driving her insane with his impulsion and impatience. It was infuriating! She quickly slipped into a white long-sleeved blouse and denim shorts. The pounding wouldn't stop until she opened the door. "What!" she shrieked at him. "Honestly!"

Daoming Si ignored her and peered into her room frantically. "She's not here." He said loudly.

"Well of course she's not," Katie growled furiously. "I'd tell you if she was." She stopped when she saw the worry in his eyes. "Let's just go and find her." She followed them out of the resort and onto the beach. They split ways. No one said anything except yelling Shancai's name. Katie was hungry by then and stopped by a street stall for a snack while still looking for Shancai.

She spotted her in the distance closer to the ocean, sitting next to someone. A guy. She started walking towards them then saw Shancai giving him a hug. She stopped in her tracks, feeling awkward, embarrassed and really at loss for action. She just froze there and continued to look on. She squinted to see who it was and she almost swore it was Huaze Lei with that mop of hair. Things just got more awkward.

_What do I do?_ she wondered. _Wait, why do I care? It's not my business. Don't make it my business. Just walk away and pretend you didn't see anything. That's the most logical thing to do. That way, you won't complicate things. It may not be what you think._

She was having a mental conversation with herself as she peeled away from the scene and she bumped into someone. She stepped backwards from the impact. _Daoming Si! _Her brain screamed. He had an annoyed look on his face when he saw her.

"What on earth are you doing walking around in a daze when you're supposed to be looking for Shancai?" He wasn't happy and that set her off.

"For your information, I was looking for her," she said pointedly. "Am. I am looking for her." She corrected quickly. That was too close.

"Have you found her? Don't stop until you have found her."

"Do I LOOK like I've found her?" He was unbelievably unreasonable! "No wait, even if I did, I wouldn't tell you. Not with that attitude." Her temples hurt from yelling at him. "You know what? Forget it. I'm sure she's fine. You can keep looking. I'm going back to my room. I have a headache and standing here having an argument with you is making it worse." She brushed past him and headed back to the resort. She didn't care for a moment that she was lying to him.

It wasn't her business anyway.

* * *

The next morning, they gathered next to the pool for a private continental breakfast specially prepared for them on request. While the boys were sipping on drinks around a table under a huge umbrella, the girls were lounging on the poolside deck chairs.

Katie took a quick peek to make sure Daoming Si was preoccupied then leant in over to Shancai, speaking in a low voice. "Shancai, did Daoming Si see you with Huaze Lei last night?"

Shancai nearly choked on her apple juice. She coughed a little then stared at Katie wide-eyed. "How … how did you … you saw?" she stuttered.

Katie nodded. "What's going on?" she continued, almost whispering. "I thought you're with Daoming Si." Shancai was deafening silent. "Aren't you?"

"No …" she started then bit her lip. "I don't know." She squeezed her eyes shut. "I'm not dating Daoming Si. Not officially anyway. Well, we were starting to go out but then Huaze Lei returned and now I'm confused …" She looked down at her drink, avoiding eye contact with Katie. "I don't know who I like better."

"You should figure that out fast," Katie said firmly. "You don't have much time before he figures out that you've been seeing Huaze Lei. It will ruin the both of you." She then added, "Plus you know what he's like when he loses his mind. You don't want that again." She could only be referring to the most recent social media episode. She hoped Shancai got the hint.

Unknown to the both of them, Daoming Si overheard a casual conversation between the random girls the boys brought to the vacation about Huaze Lei being absent from his room last night. He was now suspicious of where Shancai had gone last night.

* * *

That night, Katie was putting away her belongings back into her bags, ready for check out the next day, when there came a knock on her door. When she opened it, there stood Daoming Si. He didn't look particularly pleased and her heart skipped a beat while she held her breath, expecting what he was going to say next.

"Is Shancai here?" he asked.

"No," she answered truthfully. "What's wrong?" She already knew what he would say.

"She's not in the room again. I was hoping she'd be here." He seemed to be hinting at something else, like he didn't really expect her to be in Katie's room. "Come with me, I have to find out what's going on." He grabbed her wrist and pulled her out of her room, and with his big strides, she was jogging and tripping over herself to desperately keep up. They went out onto the beach again and started walking along the water's edge.

Katie was panicking inside. "Why do you think she would be here?" she asked, trying to sound uninterested. "It's dark and windy out here. I wouldn't be out here if I were her." _Please, Shancai, don't be out here with Huaze Lei, _she begged in her mind. _There's no telling what Daoming Si will do._

Daoming Si suddenly stopped in his tracks. His grip on her wrist tightened. "Ow!" she said. "You can let go now." He didn't. She saw what he saw: Huaze Lei and Shancai were kissing on the beach. She sneaked a peek at his face and it was horrifying. Once again, he looked treacherous and murderous. "Daoming-" she started in an attempt to calm him even though she wasn't exactly sure what she would say.

"How could the both of you!" he yelled at them and they quickly repelled away from each other as if electrocuted. Shancai was bewildered but Huaze Lei was unfazed with his stoic face. Without another word, Daoming Si punched Huaze Lei on the cheek, drawing blood from his lips. The girls shrieked in shock.

Shancai went to Huaze Lei's aid and glared angrily at Daoming Si. "WHAT is wrong with you?" she cried. "He's your best friend!"

"Not anymore, he isn't." Daoming Si replied coldly. Huaze Lei wiped away the trickle of blood from the edge of his lips and said nothing.

Shancai turned her gaze to Katie. "You told him?" she accused. Katie shook her head, surprised. "If you didn't tell him, how did Daoming Si know where to find us then?" Shancai was now angry at her. Katie was speechless.

"I found you!" Daoming Si interrupted. "Not her. How would Katie know anything about this?"

"Because she saw us last night." Shancai insisted. She then looked like she regretted what she said. "I mean, …" There was no turning back now. They were done for.

"This isn't about her!" Daoming Si snarled. "Shancai, from the beginning, I have only liked you. I devoted myself to liking and wooing you. Think about that."

He shot both of them a death glare each before grabbing Katie again and dragging her away from the scene. He finally stopped when he had stormed away far enough that the resort was but a speck of light in the distance. Katie still didn't know what to say so she remained silent. He yelled at the crashing waves of the ocean, frustrated, disappointed and sad.

Then he turned to her which made her jump a little. "Why didn't you tell me they were together last night?" he asked her loudly above the sound of the waves. He was furious again.

Katie sighed in defeat. "Because it wasn't mine to tell," she said. He was still eyeing her angrily. "Daoming Si, Shancai is my friend - I wouldn't say or do anything to hurt her or her relationship with others, whether I like what's going on or not. It's not my business and it's not mine to tell. I don't want to complicate matters, especially relationships."

"But we're friends too," he retorted. "Aren't we?"

Katie looked into his hopeful eyes. He had a point. Until this moment, she didn't realise he acknowledged theirs as a friendship. "Yes, we are," Katie replied, feeling just a bit guilty. "But this is between you and Shancai." She stopped then added, "And Huaze Lei now. I shouldn't be involved saying things to her or you in private. I'm not taking sides so you'll just have to work it out between yourselves. That's it." She drew an imaginary boundary with her two arms in a cross-way fashion to make a point.

He didn't say anything else. He started walking towards the resort, leaving her behind. She groaned loudly when he was out of earshot. _Oh, for crying out loud, this is ridiculous!_ She thought to herself as she dragged herself out of the sand behind him. _I never should have come on this stupid vacation. It's been nothing but trouble and drama._

By the time she made it to the resort, Daoming Si had disappeared so she headed to her room then realised he had dragged her out without her key card earlier so she went to the concierge and asked for access to her room. When they finally checked, double-checked and triple-checked her identity, at which time she was about to slit the concierge's throat, she followed the concierge to her room only to find Daoming Si standing at the door, knocking.

_Leave me alone!_ Her head screamed. "Daoming Si, what are you doing here?" she asked him in the calmest voice she could muster while the concierge obtained access into the room. He had his things with him.

"I'm sleeping in this room tonight," he declared. "I went to get my stuff." Katie was dumbfounded. "I paid for your room, so it's kind of mine too."

_Unbelievable,_ she thought. But she had no energy left in her to argue. It was 10pm. She was mentally and physically exhausted from this so-called vacation. "Okay, whatever." The concierge let them in then excused himself promptly.

Daoming Si threw his things across the floor of the room then disappeared into the en-suite bathroom. Katie figured she would just have to wait patiently, very patiently, for him to finish his shower, complete his tantrums for tonight and somehow, hopefully, he sleeps without snoring. She would then take her shower and turn in for the night. It would be easier that way than to fight this man-child. Neither of them had the capacity for that tonight.

He did exactly as she predicted and he did so in silence, which was fine by her because she had nothing more to say to him anyway. When he finally settled on the couch, she went to take a nice hot shower then quietly emerged from the bathroom. He didn't stir and he didn't snore. She took a peek at him over the head of the couch - he was sound asleep. She pulled out the spare blanket in the closet and threw it over him any how. It landed on most of him - that would do.

She sank into the bed tiredly, curled up and closed her eyes.


	5. Chapter 5

A few days later, Katie heard from the rumours around her that Huaze Lei and Shancai were an item and Daoming Si was in an exceptionally bad mood. The finale was here: both Huaze Lei and Shancai received an F4 Joker card from Daoming Si for a Bridge showdown in two days. It was all everyone was talking about and it was very distracting for Katie. After that vacation trip, she wanted nothing more to do with F4 or Shancai in their love games.

But she knew that wasn't going to be easy. Not when Daoming Si pulled up in front of her out of nowhere and commanded her to get in it. No questions asked, Katie jumped into his blue BMW again and waited impatiently for about 3 minutes into the car ride to apparently nowhere before she spoke up.

He cut her off instead. "Whatever you're going to say," he said carelessly. "Don't say it. I'm not listening at the moment."

"What are you doing then?" she asked both sarcastically and curiously.

"Thinking and driving." He never even side-glanced at her once since she got in the car. Rude and obnoxious, as usual.

She rolled her eyes. "That's comforting. I hope you're thinking about the fact that you're driving above the speed limit." He slammed on the brakes and she noticed they were at a familiar location. "What are we doing back at your house?"

"It's the only place I can think," he retorted. "You ask a lot of questions. It's annoying." He let himself out and started walking off.

Katie scoffed. "That's it!" she muttered under her breath. She let herself out of the car and started storming off in the opposite direction to the house. She probably made it about 20 steps when he had her by the elbow and spun her around to face him. He was even angrier than before. Serves him right for being a dick. "Hey, let go!"

"Where do you think you're going?" he demanded. "I brought you here for a reason."

"It can't be a very good reason," she said. "Because you haven't been the least bit polite or nice since you picked me up." He grip on her elbow tightened and his knuckles turned white. She winced at the painful pinch he was inflicting on her. "You really should let go before I'm the one to turn pissed off. You haven't seen me in a foul mood and trust me, you don't want to see that side of me." She gave him a serious and stern look.

He released her. The mark he left on her arm was starting to fade away as colour came back to it. "Look, I just want your help." He said.

"Why should I help you?"

"Because you're the only one who can."

"What does that even mean? Where are your best friends?"

"They can't help. They're men."

"You're not making any sense."

"I want you to be my partner player at the Bridge game with Shancai and Lei."

Katie was silent, shocked. Daoming Si was officially the strangest guy she had ever met in her life. His mind worked in ways unfathomable to her. "But I don't know how to play Bridge," she stated. "How is that helping you?"

"That's fine because Shancai doesn't either," he replied. "That's the whole point."

Katie thought it through for a bit. "So," she said. "You want the game to be fair to Huaze Lei and Shancai, and I would even the odds for their team if I played on yours."

He nodded.

Katie groaned in exasperation. "Daoming Si, why are you going through with this game only to be on their side in secret? I don't get it. Just cancel the stupid game."

"I can't. It's important."

"Wh-"

"JUST do it, okay? Why do you ask so many questions? Can you do it or not?"

Katie paused for a moment. She had no idea what he was thinking and she probably never will. However, he seemed sincere enough despite his lousy attitude. "Fine, I'll do it," she finally said. "But I have one condition: you have to teach me how to play this Bridge game."

"That wouldn't be fair to Shancai. She doesn't know how to play."

"Do you seriously think that they would turn up at the game with Huaze Lei not even attempting to teach her the rules and basics of the game? That would be really, really stupid. Shancai isn't that stupid and you know it." She then added, "Besides, if you're going to have me play this card game, I won't embarrass myself. I'm going to learn to play this game right, even if I can't win."

* * *

The day of the game came and it was unnerving. Katie was in the Bridge room with Daoming Si, Ximen and Meizuo waiting for Huaze Lei and Shancai to turn up for the game. Meizuo was toying with the deck of cards while Ximen was smiling and tapping away on his mobile phone, most likely with girls of unknown origins again. Daoming Si was the one she worried about the most - he was poised at the game table looking like he was in serious thought as he drummed his index finger.

Shancai and Huaze Lei appeared, holding hands. Katie swallowed the lump in her throat. It was a bad start already. Daoming Si saw it and stopped drumming his finger. He clenched his fists instead. "Are you two going to play cards holding hands?"

They quickly let go of each other. Shancai noticed Katie. "Katie, why are you here?" she asked, puzzled.

Katie knew Daoming Si wouldn't want her to know the truth but she said it anyway. "Daoming Si asked me to be the fourth player to even out the odds for you. I've only had a day of practice so you can rest assured today's winner won't be me." She went to sit across from Daoming Si at the table while the other two took their places.

Every round was nerve-wrecking for her. Katie didn't win once but that was expected. It was a close call between Daoming Si and the other two. When it was the final round, she was holding her breath for the longest time. She felt like her chest was about to burst. Shancai, Katie and Huaze Lei showed their hands. Daoming Si was last but before he could show his, Meizuo stopped him.

"Si, are you sure you want to show your hand?" Meizuo asked.

"Why wouldn't he?" Shancai asked indignantly. "Maybe he can't win."

Meizuo ignored her. "Si, let me remind you of your wager," he said. "If you win, both Huaze Lei and Shancai will have to withdraw from Ming De. Shancai cannot fulfil her dream of being a nutritionist and Lei won't finish his music course to pursue a career in music. Is that what you really want? Think about it."

Daoming Si bent the card he was holding, clenched his jaw then threw his card away. "This is stupid," he declared childishly. "I'm not playing anymore." He got up abruptly and violently kicked his chair back, then walked around behind Shancai and grabbed Katie by the arm. "You're coming with me. Let's go."

"What the- ow!" Katie cried, confused, as she was yanked up from her seat and scrambled to catch up with Daoming Si up the spiral steps. They burst through the double doors of the Bridge room and ploughed through spectating students who were mumbling and muttering among themselves in surprise when it was them who came out first. As usual, Daoming Si said nothing as he continued to drag her across the campus and to his car. _Here we go again_, she thought as he practically shoved her into the passenger's seat.

Once again, he drove above the speed limit in silence, thinking most likely. Katie remained quiet herself. _Shancai must be relieved he forfeited the game, _she thought. _But why did he? Was he going to win or lose that round? _She wondered and was tempted to ask him but maybe now wasn't a good time.

"I could have won," he said.

"So, why didn't you?"

"I hesitated."

"Because of what Meizuo said?"

"Maybe."

"So you still care about them."

"No, I don't care. I just don't want to be the person to ruin their dreams."

"Huh."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means, okay I believe you. Sort of."

Daoming Si was quiet, very quiet, for the next few minutes and Katie's hands started sweating as she tossed up mentally if she should break the silence. It was killing her! _What is going through that pineapple head of his? _she thought and bit her lip. _Don't say anything, don't say anything._ She chanted in her head. She felt an implosion coming on.

"I've decided," his voice suddenly boomed through the silent cabin of the car. It made her jump a bit in her seat. He looked straight ahead at the road. "I'm moving to London. Forever."

* * *

Daoming Si walked the streets of London aimlessly. His sister had to go meet her husband in Paris for a couple of days and his mother was away on a business trip, as usual, leaving him to fend for and entertain himself. He had already gone through the stack of various courses the universities in London had to offer but nothing caught his interest.

He was beginning to regret his impulsion. A week ago, he couldn't wait to get the hell out of Shanghai. The Bridge game was the last straw and his spoiled nature got the better of him. If he couldn't have the person he want, he didn't want to be around anyone who did.

But he missed Shanghai sorely. He missed his best mates, including that wretched Huaze Lei, despite recent events. Surprisingly, he didn't think of Shancai as much as he thought he would miss her. After all, he did elect to come to London with his sister to detach himself from Shancai so she and Lei could date freely. He owed Lei that much to give them a solid chance at a working relationship. Even though Meizuo and Ximen insisted that he was being magnanimous, he didn't feel that way. Despite everything, he ultimately just wanted his friends, Shancai and Lei, to be happy.

His thoughts wandered off to Katie. She was the wild card in this game. She had come out of nowhere the day the fruitcake landed on his head, dropped a textbook on his head after that and called him an obnoxious prick. Then, she gave him such a lashing when he gave Shancai a hard time in the cafeteria in front of everyone. Not long after that, she managed to calm his temper with Shancai during the social media photo episode. And she was just help after help after help right up until he left for London.

He felt his heart sink a little. He didn't even say goodbye to her. He was an awful person and friend. He did feel selfish, obnoxious and selfish right then. Katie was right about him on multiple occasions; he just never wanted to admit it. Looking at his watch, he calculated that it should be broad daylight in Shanghai around lunchtime on campus so he dialled a video call.

"Hello?" Katie answered.

"Hi, it's me." He waved.

"Wait, you're not Daoming Si."

He was annoyed. "What? What are you talking about, stupid? You're looking right at me."

"You can't be. The Daoming Si I know isn't a coward. He'd have said goodbye to his friends."

"I did! I-" he stopped and realised what she meant. "I'm sorry, alright? Seeing Lei and Shancai together was much too painful so I had to get out of Shanghai fast." He paused and she didn't say anything. "I'm sorry I didn't say goodbye to you. You've been a friend."

He saw her sigh loudly, exaggeratedly, probably on purpose. "Fine," she replied. "For the record, we're still friends. I'm not that petty. How are you anyway?" She smiled at him, finally.

"Bored. My sister's away and my mother's not around. I've been to a few orientations to check out the courses but there's nothing I'm into."

"So, are you going to come back to Shanghai then? The boys miss you. Shancai mentions you on occasion - she cares about you regardless and Huaze Lei doesn't seem to mind that she does. They both care about you. You're so lucky you have friends like them all."

"How about you? Missing me yet?" he joked.

"Sure do," she quipped. He felt his heart skip a beat. He wondered why. "It's been quiet without you jumping out from a corner every second day. Getting to class early or on time these days feels unusual. Normally I'm late or I totally miss dance practice because I have to play a Bridge game."

He rolled his eyes. "Please, that was one time." Boy, she sure held a grudge.

"Oh, and there were the times when I was literally kidnapped on the way home. Twice, at least." She added. "I'm really missing that."

"You have Stockholm Syndrome." He argued.

She laughed and he thought she was pretty when she laughed. "I guess so," she agreed. "And guess whose fault that is?" She looked at her watch. "Dammit, I have to go. Late again. See that? Even when you're all the way in London, I'm still late somehow when you're involved. Gotta go. Take care. Bye." She ended the video call.

Daoming Si didn't get one word in, not even a goodbye for this video call. "Stupid!" he grumbled in frustration. "If I was there, she'd get it from me. No one blows off Daoming Si like that." Then he stopped and thought hard. "Wait a minute, why can't I be there? Big Sister isn't here and neither is Mother. No one can stop me. Shanghai, here I come!"

* * *

Katie sat in a private booth in the Member's Section of the club. Loud, deafening music was playing all around her and she was surrounded by men she didn't know. The night wasn't supposed to end like this.

She had been on a date earlier this Saturday evening. It was nice. They met on a campus dating website and he was a student in Computer Science. He seemed sweet and simple enough, and he asked her out to dinner so she agreed. After dinner, he received a phone call that looked important so she offered to excuse herself so he could deal with it. Instead, he invited her to join him and said it would only take a few minutes then they could continue their date. It was only eight o'clock then but it was now 9.30pm, and she was bored to death. Luckily, she and Shancai had been texting, keeping her preoccupied intermittently.

Shen Yihao, her date, finally reappeared and looked apologetic. "I'm so sorry, Katie," he said. "I got caught up in some business with my brother." He presented her with a drink. "Here, you must be thirsty."

Katie could barely hear him over the pounding of her ear drums but she did notice the drink. It was a glass of champagne, and something else was fizzing from the bottom of the glass as it disappeared. Her eyes widened and her heart started pounding in anger. Did he seriously take her for an idiot?

"No thanks," she said and got up to look him in the eye. "You can save your dirty champagne for some other girl who actually wants to sleep with you. Goodbye." She turned to leave and was rudely yanked back by the arm. "Ow! Let go." But no one else heard her. The rest of the men in the same booth ignored them completely.

"I insist you have a drink," Yihao said coldly and picked up the drink for her. "Drink."

"No!" she yelled while wincing in pain at his grip, and slapped the drink out of his hand with her free arm. "Nothing to drink now so LET GO." She was boiling all over. How dare this prick think for second that she would be stupid enough to take a known spiked drink?

Without warning, he gave her a backhanded slap to the right cheek and she felt her eyes well up with tears. Her cheek stung like hell and her vision was starry and blurred from the impact. She felt herself being dragged along until they entered a room, a much quieter room, probably with sound proof walls to keep the club noise out. Her ear drums only started to stop pounding then. She wiped away her tears aggressively and angrily, as her vision cleared up.

Yihao started to remove his jacket and belt. Katie couldn't believe the change in this person. Earlier tonight, he was gentle, sweet and basically a nerd. What else could a student in Computer Science be? But she realised that they could be anyone but a nerd. They could be this sleazy lunatic she just had dinner with. It was unbelievable but it was real. And she was in real trouble stuck in a room with him and there was no one else who would hear her cry for help.

"Actually," he said casually. "I'm not interested in sleeping with you. I just needed you knocked out so someone else can sleep with you. You see, there are so many men out there who are into girls studying at university. I think it gives them some pleasure knowing they are screwing apparently smart and intelligent girls."

Katie was still defiant. There was no way in hell she was going to give in to this piece of trash standing before her. "Clearly they're not very smart or strong themselves to resort to drugging girls to have a good time. Where's the satisfaction in that? Bunch of wimps and cowards. Where do you come in, Yihao? You're a gigolo."

His good mood faded. "It doesn't matter," he said. "I have something different for you since you can't seem to keep your mouth shut and obey." He grabbed her by the neck with one hand - his hand was huge - then slammed her against the top of the desk with his grip tightening every second. She felt herself asphyxiating as she struggled to breathe through her constricted trachea, clawing at his hand desperately. "I will knock you out, have my way then cart you off to the sex slave trade."

_Did he say sex slave trade? Total lunatic! _Those were her last thoughts before her vision blacked out completely. This was it. She would wake up - if she woke up at all - among other women like her, tricked into sex slavery, and never see her family or friends again. Then she no longer felt his hand around her neck and she could breathe again. Her brain and body were re-oxygenated and she mustered the strength to get up, first on her elbow then pushed herself upright. She blinked a few times to focus before she heard a crash and jerked her head in the direction of the noise.

She couldn't believe her eyes. She thought she was hallucinating. "Daoming Si," she whispered to herself. Her voice was hoarse and barely audible. But it was him. Him and Yihao were in a tussle as they tumbled this way and that, crashing and smashing into things in the room. Daoming Si was a conditioned fighter for his moves were swift and calculated. Yihao was more of a ruffian, punching this way and that, using more body weight than skill, and missing most of the time with the odd chance to score a hit which Daoming Si blocked like a boxer in a ring.

Finally, Yihao had taken one too many punches. He backed away toward the door. He had blood dripping off his left eyebrow and a cut lip. He walked unsurely while cringing, holding his right side. Daoming Si had given him a good beating. Before he could let himself out, Daoming Si kicked him squarely in the torso with such force Yihao hurled back into the door and destroyed it. He laid there on the other side of the door in a dark corridor, unmoving.

Daoming Si was standing before her. "Are you stupid?" he asked in his arrogant fashion. "Why would you come to a place like this with a guy you don't even know?" She said nothing but her eyes started welling up with tears again, and she started to cry. She didn't want to but the tears wouldn't stop and she crumbled in a heap on the ground, holding her face. "Don't cry," he said gently and touched her head. He stooped down next to her. "Are you alright? Did he hurt you?"

She didn't know how to answer that. She just wanted to cry and cry some more. She hadn't cried in a very long time. It was useless to cry. Crying was an act that no one around her ever cared for. She found crying an absolute waste of time and energy. Instead of crying, she always sought a solution to her problem. So she never cried. Until now.

But she wanted to this time. Despite how she had always psyched herself not to, it felt like she had been bottling up all the times she wanted to cry but couldn't, and right here and now was the time to cry it all out, for everything. She cried so hard her heart, lungs and sides hurt as she buried her face in her arms and knees.

"Come on," Daoming Si tried again. "If you don't stop crying, it's going to look bad, like I made you cry." He cupped her face in both hands and tried to lift her head.

She resisted at first because she knew her face was an absolute mess but then she cried even harder, if it was possible, and buried her face into his shoulder. She didn't know why she did it but it helped. He wrapped an arm around her while she continued to cry. She felt his warmth and gentleness, and if she wasn't bawling like a brat, she would have told him he was a big softie on the inside despite his hard exterior.

"C'mon," he said softly in her ear. "Let's go." She took a deep breath and was about to get up from the floor herself when he took her arm and threw it around his neck then she felt him slide an arm under the back of her knees. He lifted her from the ground effortlessly and started walking out of the room. She didn't contest - she felt at peace as she continued to bury her face in his chest. She had stopped crying by this time but she felt numb all over. She didn't even feel the difference when he put her in his car.


	6. Chapter 6

Daoming Si took Katie back to his house. He thought sending her home in this state would spark a lot of questions from her family and that it would be difficult to explain. Besides, he felt better if he could keep an eye on her. He pulled up in the large driveway of his house, cut the engine and checked in on her next to him.

Katie was fast asleep with her head lolled over her left shoulder. Her hair covered her face which must be damp with the amount of tears that she cried for the past half hour since he found her at that club. It still felt so surreal to him.

About 5 hours ago, he had only just arrived back in Shanghai, seriously jet-lagged but he couldn't wait to see his friends again so he surprised Ximen and Meizuo in the Bridge room. He knew they would be there because they had a project to complete together for a unit. Then, they went to meet up with Huaze Lei and Shancai at Shancai's part-time job, a bubble tea joint, just as she was finishing up. When Daoming Si suggested they all go to supper and was about to invite Katie, Shancai blurted out that Katie was on a date and she was at a club. For reasons unknown, Daoming Si went off like a grenade. He was so furious that he stormed off, leaving his friends behind, and sped off to said club with an intent to throttle the girl for dating some random guy.

When he arrived, all that he intended to say had disappeared. There was only adrenaline coursing through his veins when he looked up from the dance floor of the sleazy place. Katie was being dragged off by a guy. He had to literally fight his way through the Member's Section to get to her. No one was a match for him, not even when they tried to gang up on him. He was raised to fight and defend himself just because he bore the Daoming name. It was a gift and a curse for there would be many out there who sought to kidnap a Daoming for ransom, or so his mother always said so both him and his sister were sent to self-defence classes from a young age.

The one named Shen Yihao was the worst of them all. He could not pull a punch to save his life and Daoming Si didn't break a sweat defeating him. But he felt completely helpless when he saw the state that Katie was in. He immediately felt bad after calling her stupid and his heart had felt like it ached when she cried in his arms.

He went around the car to the passenger side and tried to gently wake her but she was either dead or dead to the world. Seeing that she was still breathing, he decided it was the latter. The adrenaline had drained away and he was feeling jet-lagged again. He also hadn't had anything to eat since he touched down. He scooped her up once again and entered the house.

His butler, Mr Jiu, hurriedly informed him that his friends and Shancai had been waiting for him in the study for an hour. "Mr Jiu," he said in a low voice, not wanting to wake Katie up. "Let them know I'm not free for the rest of the night. Our friend, Katie, isn't well. I'll call them tomorrow and explain. Please see them out for me." He started walking towards his room.

A guest room would be more appropriate but he was concerned she would be unmonitored. She could also wake up alone and scared of the unfamiliar place. Furthermore, there was no way in hell he was going to sleep in a guest room in his own home. Besides, the guest room beds were awful compared to his super luxurious one.

He put her down onto his king-sized bed and she stirred only to get comfortable. She slept like she was running in freeze frame with one arm above her head, the other in front of her, and both legs in mid-run stance. It would have been hilarious and photo-worthy if he hadn't noticed the mark on her right cheek. It was mostly bruised with a linear red mark. Whoever hit her, probably the same person he was fighting, was wearing a ring on the hand he used. Daoming Si felt his blood boil and clenched his fists at the thought of anyone hurting her. It was unforgivable.

His stomach grumbled but he was too exhausted after the flight and the fight to eat then turn in. He decided he would take a quick shower, go to bed and leave the rest to tomorrow.

* * *

The next morning, Katie woke up to the familiar scent of waffles. Her eyes weren't open but her nose tingled and she sniffed the air to be sure. It was definitely waffles and Katie loved waffles with a passion! Her eyes flew open but were momentarily blinded by the sunlight streaming in from the windows so she squinting for a bit to allow her eyes to accustom to the light. When her vision focussed, the first person she saw was Daoming Si.

"Daoming Si …" she croaked. Her voice! It was barely audible. It sounded horrible, like she had been screaming at the top of her lungs all night. Except she didn't as the memories of last night's events came flooding back to her mind. _Shen Yihao, that bastard!_ she thought scornfully as she tried to get up from her sleeping position. "Ow …" she groaned in a loud whisper. Her body ached, her neck hurt and her cheek stung. Everything hurt. _He'd better still be alive,_ she thought furiously. _Because I'm going to kill him myself!_

Daoming Si quickly put away the magazine he was reading to help her up. He was awfully gentle and seemed to know exactly where it hurt because he didn't touch any of those areas when holding her up. "Hey, you okay?" he asked worriedly. He propped her up to sit against some pillows as she adjusted to get comfortable.

She nodded. "Where are we?" she wondered aloud. She looked around. The room was equivalent to about the size of the apartment that her aunt and uncle lived in.

"My room," he answered as he poured her a glass of water. "I brought you here last night. I figured you wouldn't want to go home after that … episode." He presented her with the glass.

She stiffened up when he said it was his room. That meant it was his bed she had been sleeping in and was still sitting on. This just became embarrassing and awkward at the same time. Katie didn't know how to react or what to say except "Thank you" in a small voice.

"You're welcome," he replied then yawned. "Sorry, I'm still jet-lagged. I managed a few hours before my bio-clock woke me up about an hour ago so I've just been reading some stock market stuff while waiting for you to wake up."

More awkward. They had been sleeping in the same bed! She had never shared the same bed with a guy before. She hoped, at the very least, she didn't snore or drool. If she did, she would rather the floor swallowed her in one gulp than to endure a word Daoming Si would have to say about her slumber misdemeanours. She sipped the water and it felt soothing. She was parched. He was babbling on about something.

"Hey, are you listening to me?" Daoming Si barked at her rudely, looking annoyed.

_What was his problem?_ "Huh?" she blurted out in a hoarse voice. "What did you say?" Every second word was a whisper. She couldn't hear herself properly either. It was downright irritating.

"I said," he grumbled for needing to repeat himself. "Have some breakfast. Mr Jiu had the kitchen prepare some waffles over there. I hope you like waffles." She nodded, a little too eagerly, and he grinned. "Good, then get dressed and we'll go see the family doctor. There's some women's clothes and make up over there that I asked Mr Jiu prepare from a boutique store."

"What for?" she croaked, side-glancing the rack of clothes next to the en-suite bathroom.

"Have you heard yourself lately?" he reminded. "You sound like Death itself. Plus I want him to have a look at your neck and face. That bastard left marks all over you." He sat on the bed next to her and peered at her face a little too closely. She darted her gaze away and down at the dark blue sheets that was his bed. "Look to your left."

"What?"

"Look to your left." She did and he inched closer. He grazed her cheek with the back of his index finger and it stung. She cringed and backed away slightly. "See, that definitely needs looking at. You have no choice." He got up, went over to the breakfast trolley and wheeled over to her side of the bed. "Eat." He commanded.

It was waffles. She didn't need to be invited twice. She dived right into it. Daoming Si walked away and stood in front of his floor-to-ceiling window, hands in his pockets. Katie stole a glance at him while stuffing her face with the waffles. She knew he was tall over the many times she had stood before him but she never noticed how lanky he was. She knew he had a ridiculously perfect porcelain complexion for a guy but she never noticed the aura of confidence that exuded from him. He wore his signature "pineapple head" - that's what Shancai called it, a red and black pullover jumper and skinny black jeans with impeccably clean white shoes.

"So why did you come back so soon?" she asked when she almost finished. She also finished the glass of orange juice on the trolley. "I thought you were seriously considering staying there for studying." She wiped her mouth with a napkin. That was possibly the most satisfying meal she 's had all week.

"Because you said you missed me," he replied and her heart skipped a beat. Okay, she had to admit it now. He was good-looking, like in a gorgeous kind of way. When he wasn't up her ass about senseless things, and yelling like an unreasonable lunatic, he was cute. Even when he wasn't smiling. "Didn't you?" He started walking in slow motion towards her.

She swallowed the lump in her throat. "I missed you like everyone else did," she countered. "You're a pain most of the time. Your presence is hard to miss."

His face fell to a frown. "That's it? I came all the way back here to see you …" then he quickly added. "And my friends, and this is what I get? That I'm a pain that is hard to miss." He was losing his temper.

"Hey," she told him firmly. "Chill." She put a hand on his chest and pushed him away. "I'm going to wash up. Hang in there." That was the quickest exit she could come up with. The atmosphere was getting too awkward for her. She slid out of the bed, making a wide berth around him as he eyed her accusingly, and quickly ran to the en-suite bathroom. She saw her reflection in the mirror. She was blushing big time. "Shower. You need a shower right now."

* * *

Daoming Si couldn't believe his ears just now. He practically flew all the way back from London, saved her from imminent death seeing as how motivated that shitface was when strangling her last night, let her sleep in his bed in his home for the night, and prepared her breakfast and the itinerary for the day. And all she could say was she missed him like everybody else and that he was a pain.

Furious would be an understatement as he watched her disappear into his en-suite bathroom. He heard the shower come on. He scoffed under his breath. _Women,_ he thought. _I can't seem to figure them out. First, Shancai. Now, Katie. Then he stopped himself. Wait, how did I go from liking Shancai to talking about Katie? What's going on here? _

His mobile phone pinged. It was a text from Ximen: "We are at your house. Are you home?" Perfect timing. He left his room, down the corridor, took two steps at a time down the stairs and went to the door. He flung it open just as Ximen wanted to knock. His fist was in midair.

"Hey!" Daoming Si said a little too cheerily. "Glad you guys are here."

Meizuo's face fell. "That's not a good sign. When you need us, something's wrong."

Daoming Si rolled his eyes. "Shut up and come in." The boys walked to the study. "Where's Lei and Shancai?" he asked casually.

"Lei went over to Shancai's house to help her move," Ximen replied. "Shancai's father has a new job so they are moving into a smaller place closer to campus." Daoming Si nodded, acknowledging. "Hey, you're different." Ximen looked at Meizuo quickly then back at Daoming Si. "You don't care about Shancai and Lei as much now. That's weird."

They went to the study. Mr Jiu served them some tea. The boys expressed their concerns over Katie after Mr Jiu passed on Daoming Si's message from last night. Shancai, in particular, was worried about Katie but they knew better than to disrupt Daoming Si once he's decided on something. So Daoming Si told them about last night's events and they applauded his heroics.

"Si, what a man!" Meizuo commended and patted him on the back hard. "Katie must be so touched. Did she betroth herself to you for the rest of her life?"

"And …" Ximen added. "Since you're sleeping in the same bed, did you guys do it?" Both Meizuo and Ximen peered closely at Daoming Si eagerly.

"Did who do what?" Katie's croaking voice interrupted. She stood in the doorway wearing a black shift dress with a denim shearling jacket and tan ankle-length boots.

The boys laughed uncomfortably. "Nothing," Ximen said and quickly changed the subject. "You look nice."

She looked down at herself. "Really? Thanks," she replied. "The rest of the clothes either didn't fit or suit me." She pulled her long black hair to one side. "Anyway, I'm ready."

Daoming Si shot up from his seat. "No, you're not," he said and strutted up to her in 3 strides purposefully. He walked around to her back. "The tags are still on, stupid." He ripped them off. "Now you're ready."

"I would appreciate it if you would stop calling me stupid," she grumbled. "There's stupid and there's true innocence. We're not the same." She secured her tan leather saddle bag over her shoulder. "Anyway, I'm going home. Thanks for your rescue and hospitality."

Daoming Si held up his arm to obstruct her way and nearly hit her in the neck in the process. "Wait a minute," he said firmly. "We're going to the doctor's first."

"Thanks but I don't need a doctor," she replied. "I'll be fine."

"Not negotiable." He wrapped one arm around her shoulders and started to drag her out the door with him effortlessly. He used his free arm to wave to his friends who were still sitting in the study dumbfounded. "Bye guys. I'll catch you later."

* * *

When Daoming Si arrived at their usual hangout later that evening, everyone was there, including Lei, Shancai and two unfamiliar girls hanging off the arms of Ximen and Meizuo. He never understood how the two of them could have so many women in their lives. As far as his experience went, women were either wealthy and cold like his mother, violent and oppressive like his sister, unbearably righteous but dedicated like Shancai, or … like Katie. He hadn't figured out what kind of woman Katie was just yet.

When Shancai saw him, she looked worried. He did a mental check on himself. Was he happy? No. Was he sad? No. Did he have warm fuzzy feelings when he saw her just then? Not really. He might be very well over her just yet. "Hey." he said and sat down next to Meizuo.

"How's Katie? Is she okay?" Shancai asked like she completely ignored his greeting just then.

Daoming Si didn't mind her behaviour today. Normally, it would have upset him if she didn't acknowledge him but it just didn't today and he didn't care either. His mind was too distracted with Katie. "She's fine," he said and the waiter set down his usual drink. Ximen must have made an order for him prior to his arrival. "The doctor said her injuries are superficial so they should heal with time. Her throat will too. I sent her home afterwards."

"Good," Meizuo said. "But we do have one question to ask you: do you like Katie?"

Daoming Si was surprised. Meizuo had caught him unaware. But that was Meizuo every time. "What do you mean?" he muttered, still reviewing the question and his answer.

"I mean, would you go out with her? Would you hold her hand? Would you kiss her? Would you …" Meizuo trailed off like a train.

"Okay!" Daoming said, annoyed. Meizuo liked to tease him for many things and romance was at the top of his list. "I get it. Now, shut up. You're annoying."

"So, would you?" Ximen probed, adjusting his round-rimmed glasses.

"Why are you asking me this now?" Daoming Si growled. "I don't know." His friends could be so aggravating, breathing down his neck and asking questions he had no answers to.

Lei finally spoke up. "Because we think you like Katie." He smiled in his cheeky fashion. Lei rarely smiled. His stoic expression usually represented all of his emotions. But since being with Shancai, Daoming Si noticed he had been more expressive of his feelings. Maybe that's the power of love, cliche as it was.

"Think about it:" Meizuo said. "You're no longer pissed off seeing Lei and Shancai together, which means you're over it. Then you came jetting back on a plane to Shanghai not short of one week after a video call with, NOT one of us but, Katie. You came to meet us then you ran off to Katie as soon as you heard from Shancai that she was on a date with a stranger. Then …"

"Okay, I get it!" Daoming Si cut him off in frustration. "I care about her, okay? She's been a good friend when I was with Shancai. Now that she's in trouble, I feel I should look after her. What's wrong with that?"

Ximen clapped like it was an encore. "And there we have it, people," he proclaimed with a smile. "Our Daoming Si has a new target."

"She's not a target," Daoming Si insisted. "I just want her to be alright."

"So you just want to be her angel," Meizuo chimed in. "You don't want her to reciprocate your good intentions."

"Just do what I tell her to and that's enough." Daoming Si replied.

Now it was Shancai's turn. "May I remind you that it was quite suffocating when we were together? You wanted this and expected that. You're quite the overbearing, unreasonable person. It was hard."

Daoming Si rolled him eyes at Shancai. "Please," he said. "You were frustrating yourself too. I can't believe I put myself through that ordeal. Thank God you're Lei's problem now."

Shancai was indignant. "Oh, grow up Daoming Si." she growled and sank back into her chair, folding her arms.

"Hey, that's what Katie said the day I humiliated you in the cafeteria." Daoming Si chuckled.

"If you have the nerve to say that," Shancai retorted. "Then have the guts to say you like Katie." She glared at him.

Daoming Si finally gave in. "Fine, I like her. Is everyone here happy now?" All his friends were smirking. _I'm going to regret this. I just know it._


	7. Chapter 7

Katie was running late the next morning. She had slept through the alarm and was now going through her bag while walking towards the main street to catch a bus. She had to make sure she had her application to perform at an upcoming event - it was due today. She almost collided with the blue car that pulled up and screeched to a halt in front of her.

"Hey, what the-" she started to yell then recognised the car. "Daoming Si?" She already sounded much better than the day before.

"Get in," he said. "I'll take you to campus."

Katie tossed up her options. She could either take the bus and risk being late or get into the car and owe him one more. She hesitated. The list of things he had already done for her in the past two days alone was plenty.

"I said get in," he barked. "Don't make me say it three times. Let's go, slowpoke."

_Pushy, _she thought as she reached for the door. _One more to the list isn't going to make much of a difference now. Damn it_. "Good morning to you too, cranky pants," Katie said when she entered the car. She didn't hide her sarcasm.

He pulled out of the stop and headed towards Ming De. As if totally ignoring what she just said, he asked, "What are you doing for semester break?"

Katie chose to ignore the fact that he ignored what she'd said just then. "I haven't thought about it," she replied. "Why are you asking?" She found her application slightly crumpled but it would do. She shoved it between a textbook to keep it as crease-free as possible from here on.

"The boys and Shancai are going to my family's cabin in Canada to ski," he said, looking straight ahead. Surprisingly, he was driving on the speed limit. "It's winter with snow there now. You should come."

"I don't think I can, or should for that matter," Katie replied. "I have an upcoming event that I've to perform at. I haven't been able to practise lately. I could use the time to catch up."

"So you're saying that you would rather not go to CANADA," he said with a splash of annoyance in his tone. "Because you have dance practice." He scoffed. "Dancing can't be that hard."

Katie felt insulted. "It is if you're not very good at it," she said sharply. "In fact, I've made up my mind. I'm not going." Just then, he pulled up on campus and she quickly made her exit. She didn't let him protest. "Thanks for the ride."

From a distance, she heard him yell something from his car but she ignored it. _The nerve of him to assume he knew what dancing was_, she thought in irritation. _If dancing was just dancing, then there wouldn't be special schools dedicated to teaching dancing._ _If dance was just a hobby no one took seriously, then why on earth would there be competitions of the highest honours? PFFFT. Dancing can't be that hard._ _Daoming Si, I want to kill you sometimes._

"Katie!" she heard her name. It was Shancai jogging up to her. Katie felt like she hadn't seen Shancai in a really long time. Perhaps since the Bridge game but that was only a week, two weeks tops, ago but it felt like a really long time. Shancai was adorable, as usual, in her cartoon print sweater, jeans, sneakers and backpack.

"Hey," Katie said and smiled sincerely. "How are you doing?" She gave Shancai a hug. Maybe she needed the hug more than Shancai did.

"I'm alright," Shancai replied, catching her breath. "Did Daoming Si just pick you up from home to take you here?"

The mention of his name annoyed her a little. She was still furious. "He did," she said. "That weirdo nearly knocked me down then invited me to Canada with you guys on a ski trip. When I said I couldn't, he misbehaved."

Shancai's face fell. "What do you mean misbehave?" she asked worriedly. "Did he hurt you? That Daoming Si has no idea how seriously wrong his approach can be."

"I'm fine. I mean, he started insulting me." They started walking together.

"I see. So why aren't you coming to Canada then?"

"One, I really have to practise for an upcoming event. Two, I can't afford to go to Canada. It's way out of my personal budget."

"But you know Daoming Si will pay for you, right?"

"Why would he?"

"Because he likes you."

Katie froze in her steps and a cold feeling came over her. "What did you say?" she asked slowly, taking a deep breath.

"He likes you." Shancai grinned from ear to ear. "So he is officially now and forever more YOUR problem now."

"No, no, no, no, no," Katie stammered. "That's not the truth. You're joking."

"Nope," Shancai was still abnormally happy about all of this. "He admitted it last night. The boys got it out of him eventually. He is on to you, Katie Wu." She pointed at Katie purposefully with her index finger, smiled slyly and started backing away in another direction. "We will see you in Canada."

Katie shouted back at her. "No, you won't!"

* * *

Katie was very distracted during dance practice on Thursday. In fact, her mind had been a mush since Shancai broke the news to her. She didn't believe it at first but then the truth slowly dawned on her over time. During lunch on Monday, Daoming Si was waiting outside her lecture room to escort her to the cafeteria where he had ordered a selection of food for her to pick then had the rest discarded. Then, he took her home after class. Even though he didn't pick her up to take her to campus on Tuesday, he turned up at the entrance to her first lecture with some bagels for breakfast. Everyone stared. Everyone. It was awkward and embarrassing. Yesterday, he picked her up again before class and took her home after class.

This morning, Katie had left home earlier than usual to avoid his pick up and have been hiding in dance practices. She had received many text messages and a call during lunch but she refused to reply or answer any of them. By then, it was all over social media: Daoming Si's new target acquired: dance exchange student, Katie Wu. She could hear everyone whispering about her and feel their eyes on her as she walked by.

To be fair to Daoming Si though, he never once made a move on her or told her outright about his feelings. Shancai could still be wrong. The chances were fairly slim to none at this point. Who was she kidding?

She was obviously not paying attention to her routine because she suddenly felt a sharp pain searing up her leg and she crumbled to the ground. She held her right ankle, compressing it as hard as she could while fighting back the tears. It hurt so much she could feel her entire body and face burning. There was no one else around. She had booked out the studio for herself for 3 hours. It wouldn't be for another hour before the next person, if there was one, arrived.

Someone was suddenly next to her. "Hey, you okay?" Daoming Si asked. She looked up at his porcelain face expecting him to be furious for avoiding him all day but instead he was concerned and had gentle eyes. He saw her holding her ankle and must have guessed what happened. "Do you have a scarf?"

Katie nodded and pointed at her gym bag on the other side of the room. He walked over in 5 strides and was back in 3. His legs would be amazing for dancing if he took it seriously. "Here, let me," he said and planted himself next to her ankle. "Take away your hands. I'm going to wrap it up with your scarf temporarily." And he did so expertly. Katie was so impressed, she had stopped crying. "Now, we need to take you to a doctor."

"No, I'm fine," Katie croaked and cleared her throat. "I'll just rest it."

"Rest this?" he asked in disbelief. "You can't rest this. It needs to be seen. What if you've fractured the joint instead of just spraining it? Not negotiable." He started to scoop her up but she wriggled out of his grasp.

"Is it always like that with you?" she growled. "Everything is not negotiable. Have you thought about my feelings? Or my dignity for that matter?"

"What's your dignity have to do with this?" Daoming Si looked confused and annoyed. Katie knew he was just trying to help but he sure had a darn insufferable way of helping.

"Everything," Katie replied in exasperation. "Everything." Why was she so upset? She didn't know and now wasn't the time to analyse that. "I will do whatever I want. And I want to go home, not the doctor's."

Daoming Si groaned loudly for anyone within a 50-metre radius to hear. The room echoed. She could tell he was just as frustrated as she was. "Fine, fine," he finally said and raised his hands in defeat. "I'll take you home." He went to get her things. "But you're seeing the doctor tomorrow if you still can't bear on weight on that leg. This time, not negotiable."

She cocked her head. "Fair deal." When he returned, he tried to scoop her up again. "Wait, what are you doing?" she shrieked.

"Woman!" he shouted at her. "What does it look like I'm doing? I'm helping!" He was at the end of his tether. "You're not walking."

"Yes I am," Katie retorted defiantly. "Watch me." She got up and started hobbling. She winced whenever she placed even a little weight on her right foot but she was turned away from Daoming Si so he couldn't see that she was regretting being stubborn as a mule. She would not let him have the satisfaction of seeing that he was right today. Not today.

A few moments later, he was at her side, took her left arm and threw it over his shoulder. "Fine, you win." He slipped his right arm around her and supported her by her waist, pulling her close to him as she continued to hobble. Her heart pounded so hard against her chest that she could almost hear it in her ear drums and had to force herself to take slow, deep breaths to maintain emotional control. She could smell his cologne being that close to him now. It was a nice scent.

It was already late in the afternoon and the campus was mostly quiet. Katie was grateful for that. She couldn't bear looking at the faces of the people who would likely agree with the social media post once they see Daoming Si and her walking the campus together. It wouldn't matter for one bit that she was obviously injured. It would be the talk of Ming De.

He sat her down at the edge of a planter next to the main driveway of the campus and she waited while he went to get his car. He helped her into his car and sped towards her home. When they arrived, he didn't give her a chance to protest when he resorted back to scooping her up from the passenger's seat.

"For Christ's sake, Daoming Si," Katie groaned furiously. _This boy is unbelievable!_ "When will you learn to respect other people's wishes?" He held her steadfast even though she tried to squirm out of it.

"When said people know what's actually good for them," he replied. "And stop squirming when they can't even walk. I saw you. You were crying the whole time we walked from the studio to the car. I'm not having any of that anymore. You can forget it." She stopped squirming and he smirked. He didn't say anything more. He just started walking towards the flat.

Katie quietly watched as he made his way to the correct door. _It's like he's been here before, _she thought. _How does he know how where I live? _He set her down so she was balancing on one good foot while tiptoeing with the other. She found her keys in her bag that he was holding for her and let them in to her aunt and uncle's flat. The middle-aged couple were in the midst of preparing dinner when they turned to greet her but were surprised by Daoming Si's presence too.

"Katie, is he your friend?" Uncle Pin asked. He was a dear old man. Both him and Aunt Mei were.

"Um, yes," Katie replied unsurely. She didn't plan for this acquaintance. "This is Daoming Si, a friend and student from Ming De."

Daoming Si suddenly morphed into a gentleman. He bowed. "Hello, Katie's parents, how do you do?" he said.

"Oh, we're not his parents," Aunt Mei replied, laughing shyly. "We wished we had a daughter like her. She's our niece."

Daoming Si looked embarrassed and turned to Katie questioningly.

"I'll explain later," she said softly in a very low voice she could barely heard herself but he must have because he nodded quickly. "But you should go now. Thanks for the help and ride." She started to shuffle him towards the door.

"Katie, he should stay," Aunt Mei insisted. "Dinner is almost ready. Daoming Si, you're welcomed to join us if you like."

Katie glared at Daoming Si, willing him not to oblige but that just seemed to entertain him instead. "Sure, I'll be glad to," he said to Aunt Mei then looked back at her and winked cheekily.

_This isn't funny, Daoming Si!_ Her head screamed. _Go away!_ But it was too late. He was already perched in a seat around the dining table with his chopsticks and rice bowl ready to tuck in. Groaning on the inside, she hobbled over to the table. Both her aunt and uncle saw it and they were worried.

"Katie, what happened to your leg?" Aunt Mei practically screeched in horror.

"She broke her ankle while dancing today," Daoming Si happily chimed. "That's why I had to take her home. She can barely walk."

"No one asked for your opinion, Daoming Si," Katie snapped. "Aunt Mei, I'm fine. I didn't break it. I've just sprained it."

"But you could have broken it," Uncle Pin replied meaningfully. He was a wise man. "Have you seen the doctor or taken any X-rays yet?" She shook her head reluctantly. "Then you don't know if you've just sprained or broken it. You should do that tomorrow."

Daoming Si obviously couldn't contain his happiness that someone else agreed with him through and through. "That's what I said!" he burst out. "But she wouldn't listen to me today. She's been crying the whole way home so I'm going to take her to see a doctor tomorrow."

Uncle Pin nodded in agreement. "Yes, Daoming Si," he said. "Thank you for that. Katie is lucky to have a caring friend like you."

Katie gave up. She quietly ate her food while Uncle Pin and Daoming Si conversed with Aunt Mei chipping in every now and then. The three of them were having a great time until dinner was over. Daoming Si couldn't stop complimenting Aunt Mei's cooking. Katie was ready to gag at his curry favour. Uncle Pin and Aunt Mei finally declared that they had to go meet some friends tonight so they left but not without expressing never-ending approval of Daoming Si.

"Okay, okay, that's enough," Katie shoved them out the door. "His head can't get any larger. Please, just go." They finally left and she heaved a sigh of relief. When she turned around, Daoming Si stood a little too close to her. She had to press herself against the door to add some distance. "What do you want and why are you staring at me like that?"

"Now that we're alone …" he moved in closer until she could literally feel his breath on her face as she turned away with eyes wide open. "… you can explain what you said you would just now." He didn't move away. Instead, he just smiled teasingly as she could see from the corner of her eye.

"Can you back off?" she asked. "My ankle hurts. I need to sit down."

Daoming Si rolled his eyes and backed off a couple of steps, still smiling. _He's getting a kick out of teasing me when I'm incapacitated,_ she thought. _The weasel._ She hobbled a few steps to the tiny living room where the couch was and sat down. Her ankle was throbbing but she refused to say anything.

"As you can tell," Katie began. "Aunt Mei and Uncle Pin are not my parents. Aunt Mei's is my mother's older sister. They don't have children so when I asked if I could stay with them this year, they were more than happy to have me. They would have made good parents. Unlike my parents who are not around a lot, Aunt Mei and Uncle Pin like to be around when I'm home."

Daoming Si nodded thoughtfully. "I see," he said. "They are nice. I like them." Katie smiled at him. He could be somewhat adorable when he wasn't being a brat. "Do you think they like me?"

"Sure," she replied. "It looked like they did. Why?"

"Do you think they'd let me come over more often?" he wondered aloud.

"What ever for?" she eyed him pointedly. He was up to something.

"To see you," he said bluntly. "And to have more of Aunt Mei's cooking. That was delicious!"

Katie couldn't help but smile at his childishness. Most days, Daoming Si was an insufferable bully but he seemed to always make up for it with his straightforwardness. There was no need to make guesses around him. He was what he was. He might not be everyone's cup of tea though. But he was good on the inside, unlike a certain Shen Yihao. That creep made Daoming Si look like an angel in comparison.

"I'll let Aunt Mei know when she gets back," she said and glanced at the clock on the wall. "It's late. You should go." She started to get up to show him the door. He pushed her back down onto the couch firmly.

"Forget it, Katie Wu," he said. "I'll let myself out. But I want to be clear about something." He bent over for he was way too tall for her when she was sitting down and met her at eye level. "I'm picking you up tomorrow and we're going to the doctor's." She opened her mouth to protest. "Don't. I've been watching you all night writhing in pain internally. It's fine if you don't want to show me that you're in pain but I know you are and you're too stubborn to give in to go to the hospital tonight so, first thing in the morning, I'll be here to pick your ass up."

Katie was speechless. She watched open-mouthed as he let himself out. _Smart ass, _she thought.


	8. Chapter 8

When they arrived at his family's cabin, Daoming Si didn't give Katie any opportunity to set foot in the snow. The doctor said to keep the ankle immobilised and steady for at least two weeks, and that was what he was going to make sure of. Before she could protest, he scooped her up and carried her up about five steps onto the patio of the villa. The driver followed closely behind with their things and let them in with the key he held. Daoming Si put her down on the couch, ignoring her death glares.

"Thanks Tim," he told the driver as Tim gave him the keys, tipped his hat and excused himself. "Home sweet home." He looked around the cabin. It was as cosy as he remembered being there two years ago. It was light and bright, and overlooked a vast and lush forest. He felt a small chill which reminded him to turn on the heating in the cabin.

"I still don't know why you've carted me all the way out to Canada," she said from the couch. She rubbed her gloved hands together then tucked them under her armpits. She was already all rugged up with a woollen beanie, mittens, wool-lined boots, jeans and an oversized windbreaker, but her face was flushed and her lips were turning a slight shade of purple. "It's not like it's appropriate to ski or walk in snow with a sprained ankle."

Daoming Si signed in exasperation. Boy, this woman was insufferable. He had to give her some credit for being almost as stubborn as he was. "Because," he said as patiently as he could manage without losing his temper. "Your aunt and uncle are busy with no experience in taping that ankle daily, plus you can't dance anyway so you might as well come along with us and I can take care of you." That should be very clear. There was no way she could dispute that.

She bit her lip and looked away, as he suspected she would. "Hey, you have a dog!" she said then her face immediately broke into a big smile.

"No, I don't …" he started to say and looked in the direction she was looking. There was a medium- to large-sized golden-haired dog standing on the doorstep on the patio looking right at them, panting. "… have a dog." He finished and walked over to the canine creature. "Hey, where'd you come from?" He gave it a pat on the head and it liked it very much. It kept nudging his hand for more.

"Don't just stand there in the cold with it," Katie urged. "Bring it inside." He ushered the dog into the cabin before Katie could try to get up from the couch. It went up to her and started nudging her hands and legs for contact. Its bottom wagged as hard as its tail went. Katie was so excited and happy. "What's your name, buddy?" she asked as she tried to read the brass tag on its collar. "Max. Your name is Max!" And Max was even happier than before.

He must be someone's then," Daoming Si said thoughtfully. "Maybe he wandered off someone else's cabin. I'll go ask the neighbours. Come on, Max." He slapped his thigh to get the dog's attention as he went towards the door. Max started bounding up to him, leaving Katie looking forlorn on the couch. "I'll be back shortly. Don't worry."

Katie scrunched her face in annoyance. "I'm not worried about you," she told him. "I'm worried if you found his family, I won't get to say Goodbye."

"I'll take you to his family once I find them so you can say your Goodbye, alright?" he said. "Now, stay put until the others arrive or I get back." He shut the door behind him and Max. _Women,_ he thought. I s_till cannot figure them out._ He looked down at Max who looked up eagerly. "Come on, Max. Let's go see who you belong."

It was as if Max knew how to walk off-lead. The canine stayed close to his feet as they walked through the ankle-deep thick snow under the cloudless sky. They went door to door on the same street but no one knew Max or where his family was. Most of the cabin residents were holidaymakers. There was one last house at the end of the street and Daoming Si decided that if it was futile as well, he would head back to his cabin. He knocked on the door twice.

A young family greeted him. "Hi, I found this fellow today. Do you know him?"

They looked at Max. "We've seen him around for about a week now since we moved in but haven't seen an owner. He could have been left behind."

Daoming Si thanked them for their information and started walking with Max back to the cabin. "Well, Max," he said to the dog reluctantly. "Katie is going to love your company more than mine for sure." When they walked the homestretch back to the cabin, the rest of his friends were already there. He must have taken longer than expected. They were surprised to see him enter the cabin with Max, who went up to greet everyone individually with his butt wags and nudges. Shancai and her friend, Xiaoyou, joined in with Katie fussing over Max. Dogs seem to make girls happy, for some peculiar reason.

"So did you find his family?" Katie asked as she scratched his chin with one hand and rubbed his head with the other.

Daoming Si shook his head. "No," he replied. "Someone down the street said he could have been abandoned about a week ago. No one knows where he came from." Katie's face fell into sadness as Max continued to nudge her knees with his tongue hanging out one side of his mouth in ecstasy. Daoming Si walked over to her and got on one knee next to her. "Don't worry. He can stay with us until we figure out what to do with him. You'd want that, don't you?"

Katie nodded then they both realised the cabin was dead silent except for Max's panting. They both looked at their friends who were grinning. "What is it?" Katie asked, looking confused.

"Nothing," Ximen said and shrugged his shoulders but looked at both of them meaningfully, smiling. "We'll go get ourselves settled in while you two have some quiet time to yourselves."

Daoming Si shot up from his position, slightly embarrassed. "What are you talking about?" he mumbled. "We're going to get settled in our room too."

"Wait," Katie interrupted. "Our room? We're not sleeping in the same room. I'm going to go stay with Shancai and Xiaoyou."

"I can't take care of you if you're staying with the them," he retorted. "Your ankle needs to be strapped every day and you can barely walk anyway. You need someone who can strap your ankle and help you around." He picked up her things. "And that'll be me." He eyed her quickly then carried the belongings into the largest master suite. He heard the rest of them chuckle faintly in a distance.

* * *

Katie was furious by evening. Daoming Si would not let her do anything. He insisted on doing everything for her including bringing her food and water, and carrying her around the cabin. She felt like a vegetable. They eventually had an argument about him carrying her around against her will and he stopped doing it, allowing her to hobble and hop around the cabin with Max close by most of the time.

It was now evening after a sumptuous dinner prepared by the usual caterer whenever Daoming Si, or any of his family, visited the cabin. Everyone complimented the chef. Even Max had a portion of dinner. Meizuo was sitting at the games table with the girls, who were repeatedly challenging his memory. Over and over again, they couldn't believe his memory for the cards were that accurate. He proved them wrong every single time.

Lei and Ximen appeared from their showers. "What's going on?" Ximen asked quizzically. Meizuo was slumped in his chair with his face and eyes staring blankly at the ceiling.

"The girls are driving me crazy," Meizuo replied flatly. "They don't believe my memory. I've been doing this memory game for the past hour. Help." The girls giggled.

"Simple memory games are not fun," Ximen declared. "Let's play Bridge."

Shancai protested. "Not fair!" she said. "You guys are competitive players. We will surely lose."

Ximen shrugged and he planted himself behind Xiaoyou, whom Katie was told by Shancai that Ximen had taken an interest in and Xiaoyou also seemed to like Ximen. Lei pulled up a chair next to Shancai. Katie sat across Meizuo with Max warming her feet under the table. Max was a very good dog. She liked him a lot. It was a shame his family left him behind.

"Finally," Meizuo said. "A real game." The girls rolled their eyes as he started shuffling the cards expertly then distributed them.

Katie vaguely remembered how to play Bridge from Daoming Si's coaching for the challenge a few weeks ago. But Xiaoyou and Shancai had Ximen and Lei's help respectively while Meizuo was exercising his "special skill" of misdirection from across her. The game was unnerving. Her palms were sweaty. She lost two games yet so far.

She was getting panicked and desperate by the third game. Xiaoyou and Shancai were playing expertly, obviously, with the boys' guidance. She was seriously suffering in this game against professional players. She was about to pick a card to show when a hand appeared out of nowhere and held hers in mid-motion.

"Not that one," Daoming Si whispered in her ear which sent tingles down her spine. "Throw this one." He pointed at a card and she did. She won that round. The rest of the boys, Shancai and Xiaoyou grinned at them again. She ignored them.

As the game resumed, Daoming Si quietly leaned on the chair from behind her then held her hand that was holding the fan of cards. Her instinct was to withdraw her hand from his touch but he was holding it firmly while he moved the cards around the deck.

"The trick to Meizuo's memory when playing Bridge is to rearrange your cards often," Daoming Si said aloud. Meizuo's face fell. "Because he reads your facial expression when you're looking at a good card or a bad card, and he remembers the pattern well. So you have to destroy that pattern. There, now just keep doing that and you just might stand a chance."

She nodded and followed suit, switching her cards periodically through the game. His hand was still holding hers the whole time until the rest of the game. She didn't mind after a while because she was desperately trying to remember her own cards that she moved around. Bridge was harder than she had imagined.

They were all down to their last two cards in their hands each. "So how does one defeat Ximen and Lei then?" Katie asked him as she inched back closer to him. She was now very interested in this game of skill, wit and deception.

Daoming Si whispered in her ear again, this time so close she could feel his breath on her neck. "Lei's tactic is to mesmerise his opponent with his stoic expression so don't look him in the eye," he said. She nodded. "As for Ximen, he looks out for patterns so if you can play haphazardly, you can throw him off."

"Si," Ximen protested. "That's cheating." He scoffed. "Xiaoyou, this one." He pointed at their deck and adjusted his glasses.

"YES!" Katie screamed, throwing her last card onto the table. She hi-fived Daoming Si with such a loud slap her palm hurt but she was so excited she had won this round. She forgot about her ankle. She wanted to jump to her feet but felt a pang of pain in her leg as she wobbled unsteadily and sank back into the chair. It hurt but she was laughing instead.

Daoming Si crouched down next to her and touched her injured ankle. "Katie, are you okay? How's your ankle?" he asked, concerned. She waved as if it was nothing. "Okay, bedtime for you, young lady. Let's go." He scooped her up and called Max along.

Katie was still bursting with elation at the game she had won. She didn't care that he was carrying her again in the cabin. She stole a glance at the rest over his shoulder. They were all grinning again. It was like a total norm now. In the room, Daoming Si set her down on the edge of the bed and started to remove the strap on her ankle.

"Can you manage taking a shower on your own?" he asked.

"I'll take longer than usual but I'll manage," she replied and started hobbling slowly into the en-suite bathroom. "I'll yell if I'm in trouble. I promise." She managed the hot shower perfectly fine. She got into her pyjamas and hobbled out of the bathroom to find Daoming Si ready to strap her ankle with some fresh tape in hand. He was awfully quiet this evening after dinner. It felt unusual that they weren't arguing about something.

"There, done," he said as he admired his handiwork. "How does it feel?" She nodded in approval. It felt like the last one, only tighter which means it must be more secure. "Okay, good. Time for bed." He fluffed up a pillow and put it at the bottom of the bed. "Put your ankle there like the doctor said." She laid her head on a pillow on the other end of the bed and he pulled the covers over her. If anything, it was a sweet gesture she appreciated.

He walked around the bed and got in on the other side. There was plenty of room in this king-sized bed. Max had been on the floor this whole time but the canine suddenly jumped onto the bed to join them. Katie expected Daoming Si to protest and tell the dog to get back down onto the floor but he didn't. Max laid down in between their feet and she soon heard both of them sleeping. She drifted off soon after.

* * *

The next day, they all went skiing. Except for Katie. She tagged along with some help from Daoming Si especially when it was impossible to hobble through knee-deep snow, he would give her a piggyback ride then. Max was also with them the whole time. He behaved like they were his family, staying close and vigilant all the time. While the others skied, Katie would read a book and Daoming Si would check on her often.

She didn't miss out on the snowball fights while sitting on the steps outside the cabin however, but she was an unmoving target so Daoming Si had warned anyone who tried to pick on her that he would take revenge. She was still hit anyway for those who wanted to aggravate him on purpose. Everyone had a wonderful time that day, laughing and squealing, playing with snow.

When evening came, everyone was indoors as a blizzard was predicted to come through the night. The doors and windows were secured. The boys checked thoroughly. After another catered sumptuous dinner, everyone except Daoming Si and Katie were in the cellar enjoying some wine. Daoming Si was taking a shower. Katie didn't like wine so she didn't bother hobbling down the stone steps. Instead, she was in the family room reading a magazine next to the fireplace with Max when the dog got up and started to paw the front door urgently.

"Max, what's wrong?" Katie put down the magazine and followed him, hobbling along. Her ankle was feeling better with the multiple strappings Daoming Si had been doing for her. "You shouldn't go out now. It'll get very cold soon." But Max was quite frantic. If she didn't know better, she'd have thought it was his toilet dance. "He must be busting to go." She thought about it and opened the door for him. "Go Max. Come back quickly." She stood at the door as she watched him disappear into the dark. The storm had not arrived yet but it was expected at anytime. About a minute passed and she still couldn't see him. She started to panic. "Max?" she yelled into the dark. "Max! Come here, boy! Come back!" Still no sign of the canine.

Worried, she grabbed her windbreaker from the coat rack and left the cabin. She put on the windbreaker and zipped it right up to her chin. She ambled along as fast as she could in the direction that she saw Max went. "MAX?" she shouted. She continued to yell his name as she kept walking further. It was getting darker by the moment. She criticised herself for not taking her phone or a torchlight along for visibility. Canada had wolves and bears in the wild, and moose and reindeer, amongst other dangerous creatures like wolverines. She was further and further from the cabin but she kept looking back to ensure it was in sight. She could do this - just find Max and drag him back to the cabin by the collar if she had to, following the lights of the cabin.

She ventured further and the snowstorm was picking up. "MAX!" she cupped her mouth and shouted as loud as she could. Finally, a four-legged figure was in sight but as it came closer, she realised it was too large to be Max. It was a moose, a buck. She yelled at it and waved her arms to shoo it away. She didn't know if it was feeling threatened or was trying to threaten her. She could hardly see anything. She just didn't want trouble right here, right now. She was already in a predicament. The buck came closer and closer, swinging its head this way and that.

_For Christ's sake, stupid, _she thought at the moose. _This isn't the time to be showing off your stupid antlers. Go away! _She didn't know what else to do. She certainly couldn't outrun it and she didn't want to turn her back on it. While she was contemplating the situation, Max appeared next to her and started barking at the moose. The buck turned tail and ran away. _Maybe I should have barked at it to begin with. That worked like a charm. _She stooped down into the snow to hug Max, relieved that he wasn't mauled by wolves or bears or wolverines. But when she turned back to where she thought the lights of the cabin would be, she couldn't see anything.

She panicked again and while holding on to Max's collar, she took a few steps through the snow and fell over instead. It was freezing and painful as the snow touched her face. She tried to get up on one good leg but it kept sinking into the soft snow. She was stuck in thigh-deep snow. Her jeans were soaked through with the ice and she could feel her thighs cold then she started losing any feeling of her legs. Even her ankle didn't feel sore anymore.

_Oh no, s_he thought as her head screamed. _I'm stuck, I'm wet, I'm going to freeze to death out here! _She was still holding on to Max's collar as the dog tried to push his way through the snow, pulling her along. He was getting somewhere but with her holding on to him, he was sinking back into the space in the snow he had made. She had to let him go and he broke through, scurrying away. She couldn't see him anymore as she curled up to keep warm but it was futile. She was going to die in this blizzard. There would be nothing left but a frozen corpse in the morning.

She just had to open that stupid door for the stupid dog.

* * *

Daoming Si burst into the cellar. "Have any of you seen Katie?" he asked, flustered. "Or the dog. I can't find them anywhere in the cabin."

His friends snapped their heads towards him, looked at each other and shook their heads. "I saw her on the couch with Max just now," Xiaoyou said helpfully. "That was about half an hour ago when we all came down here."

He felt blood draining from his face as a cold chill went up his spine and his mind was thinking of the worst. _She couldn't have been stupid enough to go outside,_ he thought. _She wouldn't but if she had to, she would. _"The dog's not here either," he said. "I think she might have gone outside with him for a toilet walk or something." He raced up the stone steps with his friends following right behind him.

They looked out the window and the snowstorm was in full force. They dispersed quickly and started looking all over the cabin for Katie and Max. Not in the rooms. Not in the main areas or kitchen. She was nowhere to be found. They congregated in the living room next to the fireplace. The magazine she was reading just then was on the coffee table.

"What's that sound?" Shancai asked and cocked her ear. It was scratching of some sort. "It's not mice, is it?" Everyone went silent and listened for the sound. It came again with some whining. "It's coming from the front door!" They all went to the door and it forced itself wide open as the wind came through the cabin. Ximen and Meizuo struggled to shut it again. Max bounded in, covered in a layer of snow, shook the snow off and started barking and, jumping up and down.

Daoming Si grabbed his coat. He noticed Katie's wasn't there. "Katie must be out there," he said as he threw on his coat and zipped it up. "Her coat isn't here and she would not leave this dog alone, not for a moment since we met him. Something is wrong. She should be with Max. I'm going to find her."

"Are you crazy?" Ximen asked and grabbed his friend's shoulder, pulling him back a few steps. "It's snow storming out there. You'll never find her. You'll both freeze to death before you find her."

"I have to try." Daoming Si replied solemnly. He didn't know what else to do. He couldn't leave her to die out there without trying to locate her. He would not succumb to cowardice and leave her tonight, even if he died trying. A Daoming would never allow it. His sister would be disappointed in him if he did. "Try to get some help if I don't return. At least bring home our bodies." It was a bad thought.

It was Shancai's turn to grab him and she had tears in her eyes. "Don't be stupid," she cried. "You have to come back with her. You have to! Don't you dare give up. You hear me?" Xiaoyou tried to hold back her friend.

"I'll do my best." Daoming Si told her and opened the door again, inviting the howling wind in. "Come on, Max, show me where she is." The dog headed off a few feet ahead of him. It was blistering cold - he couldn't feel his own face anymore. Max kept going ahead then running back to him and repeated this pattern for a while. He was starting to wonder if the dog knew what it was doing. Maybe it was playing. If Max was playing, they were all doomed. He just realised that he didn't think about it but he had just placed a hundred percent faith assuming the dog would take him to Katie. He was beginning to regret it now.

But something came in view: a shadow on the ground. It wasn't moving. Max was bounding through the snow towards it then back at him then it then him. It had to be Katie! Even though he was nearly numb all over, he pushed on as fast as he could in the snow that was waist-high now. His clothes were soaked through and his boots felt heavy. He got to her and she was barely alive.

"Dao-… Si," was all he managed to hear when he turned her over. She was in a foetal position, probably trying to keep warm, but she was frozen in that position too.

"Katie, I'm here," he told her but he could barely hear himself in the blizzard. "Come on. Don't sleep." He managed to pry open her arms and pull them over his back then, with her hitching a piggyback ride, he mushed through the snow with Max following him close by. He had lost track of the direction he came from. He looked around for a slither of hope but it was all dark. _Oh great,_ he thought. _Now we are really going to die out here_.

He kept on walking anyway. It was tiresome. She was near deadweight on his back and he needed a lot of strength to plough through the snow that was thickening. Suddenly, Max jumped in front of him and barked excitedly. _Stupid dog,_ he thought. _Only he can still be in good spirits at this time. We're all dying and he's happy. _Max started moving through the snow and didn't turn back. Daoming Si translated it as he knew where he was going, hopefully the cabin or at least somewhere to get out of the storm, and followed him. He didn't have much choice anyway. The air was painfully cold as he huffed and puffed his way through the snow.

A structure came into view. It wasn't the cabin but it was shelter. He entered and shut the door, thankful that the wind didn't come in. It was an abandoned shack. Max was running around inside like a lunatic, knocking things over.

"Max, stop, you idiot!" Daoming Si barked at him in irritation. Max sat down obediently. "Thank you, Max. Your running about is driving me crazy. I need some quiet to think." He felt stupid talking to a dog but he didn't care anymore. Katie didn't say a word since he found her so he put her down next to an abandoned fireplace to check on her. Her face was covered in a thin layer of ice and her lips were blue or purple, the light wasn't very good. Either colour wasn't a good sign. He needed to warm her up quickly.

"Katie, Katie," he called out as he rubbed his hands then placed them on her cheeks. "Katie, wake up. Don't sleep. Stay awake." She stirred. "Okay, that's good, that's good. Stay awake. I'm going to make a fireplace for us." He took off his coat and piled it on her. Then he started scrounging around for the right materials. He needed dry wood and a fire-starter. The wood was in a corner and the fire-starter was in the fireplace. Perfect. He made a fire with shaking hands. While it was burning, he searched the shack for anything that could help keep them warm. There were a few thick blankets.

By then, Max had taken a spot in front of the miserable fire. It would take a while for that to start burning bright and warm. Until then, Katie still felt cold to his touch. He touched her coat and jeans - they were soaked through.

"Katie, Katie," he gently shook her so she stirred, hoping she could hear him. "Don't sleep. Listen to me: you need to remove your clothes. They are wet and cold. You can't warm up quickly enough wearing them. Can you hear me? Katie?" Her head started lolling side to side like a ragdoll. "Katie, wake up!" She didn't open her eyes. She didn't respond to him. "Shit." Without further delay, he started to remove the blanket on her and every piece of clothing: her boots, socks, jeans, windbreaker, jumper, thermals, everything except her underwear. Then, he threw the thick blanket over her body as he removed his soaked clothing as well, down to his underwear.

Shivering violently, he carried her to the front of the fireplace and huddled under the thick blanket with her. He hugged her as close to his body as possible for heat exchange. Her body was still limp but she was were both shaking and shivering as her head laid on his shoulder. He felt himself starting to lose consciousness as the cold overwhelmed him. As he held Katie close and drifted off, the last thing he felt was a body climbing on top of them and the last thing he heard was a canine whimper. Then, it all went black.

* * *

His eyes flew open and the brightest of lights blinded him. He shut them again and squinted until his view came into focus. Then he felt something wet, warm and slippery on his cheek. And dog breath. He gently pushed Max away. If Max was here, then he was likely still alive. Katie! He turned to her. She was still lying on his shoulder with the sunlight streaming onto her face through the window above them. He peered closely and saw her breathing. He let out a huge sigh of relief and allowed himself to relax.

Katie stirred and rested her head onto his chest instead, curling up closer to him. He wrapped his arm around her and rested his hand on her head. All was right in the world for a moment, until the darn dog pricked his ears then scurried out of the shack. Shortly after, Daoming Si heard voices and barking approaching the shack and suddenly realised that they were both just in their underwear still!

"Katie, Katie!" he whispered loudly and urgently as he nudged her shoulder. "Wake up! Wake up!"

Too late, the voices were in the shack and standing before them were the boys, Shancai and Xiaoyou. Their worried faces turned to shock and surprise, and the boys started to smirk and grin, to his annoyance. Their footsteps on the wooden floor must have finally woken Katie because she stirred then opened her eyes, rubbed them and sat up. He made sure the blanket still concealed her neck down.

"What happened?" she croaked and looked around her groggily. "Where's this place?" Then, she looked down at herself, the blanket and him beside her. "What the-! What's going on?" she shrieked. "Why am I undressed in an old shack next to you?" She looked completely stumped. Then, it was like she realised their friends were standing in the shack. "Wait, I'm confused. I feel like I've lost a memory - this doesn't make sense."

Shancai started shoving the boys out of the shack. "Come on, guys," she said. "Let them put on their clothes."

Daoming Si and Katie silently reached for their respective clothes and started getting dressed. Before they left the shack, Katie took his arm. "Hey," she said. "I think I remember what happened. I went out to look for Max and couldn't find our way back to the cabin. You came to rescue me and we ended up here. I also think I vaguely remember nearly freezing to death and you were just helping to warm me up, keeping me alive." Daoming Si nodded and she managed a small smile at him. "For what it's worth, thank you for saving me. I wouldn't be alive today if it wasn't for you." She slipped her arms around him and gave him a hug.

He returned the gesture. "Katie," he said gently. "I like you. Think about it." He felt her body stiffen when he said those words but she didn't reject him. There, he had said it outright and upfront. It was all up to her now. She pulled away from him, looked up at him and bit her lip. "What's wrong?"

Shaking her head, she turned away and continued her way out of the shack, hobbling again. He groaned. "Women." He jogged up to her and tossed her over his shoulder. She laughed and protested. "You're not walking."

On the way back to the cabin, Daoming Si told the rest the tale of his heroic rescue and Katie didn't argue once.


	9. Chapter 9

On the first weekend back in Shanghai and at Ming De, Shancai invited Katie to her high school class reunion. Katie felt awkward accepting the invitation at first because she wouldn't know anyone else except Shancai, Xiaoyou and Chen Qinghe. But Shancai insisted she should come and make some new friends seeing as the only people Katie hung out with were F4 and her. Shancai was ever so sincere in her invitation over lunch yesterday, Katie didn't have the heart to refuse her.

She kind of wished she did now. Dance practice in the first week had been an absolute killer. Her injured ankle was getting better initially but as soon as she started more intensive routines, it started to act up again. In fact, it was sore and she was wearing her heeled ankle boots. _Worst decision ever,_ Katie scolded herself mentally as she winced a little each time she shuffled her right foot forward. _It's too late to turn around now. You're nearly there._ Shancai told her it was a popular local fast food joint in a shopping complex.

As she ambled her way to the location, her phone went off and Daoming Si's name flashed on the screen. She suddenly realised that she hadn't spoken or seen him all week since they got back from Canada. It was unusual now that she thought about it but she was too busy with classes and practices to realise that. Then again, perhaps she was just being too sensitive. After all, it wasn't like they were dating and needed to keep tabs on each other all the time. Maybe he didn't care either.

"Hello?" she answered.

"Hey, where are you?" Daoming Si asked, rude as usual, demanding things at first contact. "I'm coming to get you."

"Wha-? Why?" she replied. Who does he think he is?

"I miss you," he said. His voice didn't have a hint of sarcasm. "I want to see you so tell me where you are and I'll come get you."

Katie thought about it briefly. His offer was tempting. He had a car and her ankle could be rested. But she had promised Shancai she would be there. It would be criminal to do a runner on her now. "Daoming Si," she spoke into the phone clearly. "I have to be somewhere right now on a promise to Shancai. I'm going to her high school reunion. I'll see you later maybe?" She made it to the venue and saw a group of people gathering in a cordoned off corner. "I'm already here. Bye." She ended the call promptly before he could slip another word in. "Sorry." She told him while looking at her phone.

"Katie!" Shancai cried happily, jogging up to her and took her arm, pulling her into the restaurant. "You made it! Come on in! You have to meet everyone." She dragged her to everyone and Katie felt a bit like a freak in a display jar. "Everyone, this is Katie. She's an exchange student at Ming De. She's very nice and everyone here is very nice too so I think we can all get along." Katie had never seen Shancai smile as wide as she was right now. This must mean a lot to her.

"Hi everyone," Katie said shyly and managed a small wave. "Nice to meet you."

A tall guy perched on one of the taller stools extended his hand. "I'm Zibu," he said as she took his hand and shook it. "So, an exchange student huh? You're pretty. I like pretty girls."

Katie was slightly taken aback by how forthcoming he was. "You must like Shancai then," she replied. "She's cute and pretty."

"I do, but she's taken. She just told us she has a boyfriend. I don't mess with girls who have boyfriends." Zibu said it so matter-of-factly, glancing in Shancai's direction then looked at her. "How about you? Are you seeing anyone?" Then he noticed she didn't have a drink. "Here, let me get you something to drink." He hopped off the stool and went to order a Coke for her. He came back quickly. "Here, I hope you like Coke. Everything else here tastes disgusting." He stuck out his tongue.

She laughed at his goofiness and accepted his drink. He asked again if she was seeing anyone. "Not really," she replied, thinking of Daoming Si. "No." It was complicated. She recalled their short talk in the shack that morning the rest of them found her and him. He hadn't brought it up since but whenever he looked at her, she felt his gaze bore into her core. She never knew how to give him a straight answer, if she had one at all. "I'm not seeing anyone."

"Good," Zibu said. "Let's go out together some time." Katie's jaw dropped, mentally. Where on earth does this guy find that sort of confidence to just drop words like that? He actually reminded her a lot of Daoming Si. They belonged in the same category of narcissism, in the simplest form of describing both of them. "Anyway," he continued as he grabbed his drink and hers then took a couple of steps forward to address the group. "Okay, everyone, it's time for One Cup. Everyone loves this game. Let's go!" The rest groaned and moaned instead.

Zibu started to fill up an empty beer tower with the Coke and half the contents of his beer bottle. Then he started grabbing everyone else's leftover drink and poured it into the beer tower. The colours of the concoction constantly changed and the more drinks he added to the mix, the more Katie's stomach turned. _Yuck! Who would drink that? _she thought in disgust but she didn't want to be impolite. She just kept watching until Zibu filled a plastic cup with the bad cocktail of drinks and offered the first one to her. "For the new girl," he said. "Drink to new friends."

Katie politely took it and looked down at it. It was a horrid, murky brown colour with some fizzing. Her mind made a face. Her nose told her not to drink it. Her stomach wanted to reflux. She felt sick all round.

"Drinking disgusting drinks with disgusting so-called friends is so beneath you." A familiar voice rang through the small restaurant and Katie knew who it was immediately: Daoming Si. He stood in the middle of the restaurant with his arms folded, glaring at Katie. He was not in a good mood.

"Daoming Si!" Shancai yelled at him furiously. "What the heck did you mean by that?" His words had offended her deeply. These were her high school friends and he had just insulted all of them. This wasn't going to end well. Where was Huaze Lei and the rest to hold him back? "Who are you calling 'disgusting'?"

He ignored Shancai completely. "Katie, let's go." He took the crook of Katie's elbow and started pulling her away.

Katie hurriedly put down the plastic cup that was threatening to spill over. She quickly turned to Shancai who was still seething with anger. "I'm so sorry, Shancai," she said as she followed him reluctantly. Her ankle was throbbing and he was walking too fast. "Daoming Si, hang on a second." Suddenly, she felt another hand grab her free arm. Zibu anchored her down. She heard Daoming Si scoff as he turned around, eyeing Zibu squarely.

"You don't have to go with him, Katie," Zibu said. "Who is he to you anyway? Your boyfriend?" Zibu was evidently sizing up Daoming Si.

"No, er …" Katie said honestly and meekly. "He's not my boyfriend …" She felt Daoming Si's grip on her tighten. He was pissed beyond pissed now. Katie stood there frozen, unsure what to do next. The logical thing to do would be to go with Daoming Si so he would stop making a scene and the rest could resume their reunion without her. On the same token, she considered if she should ditch Daoming Si instead to teach him a lesson about ordering others around incessantly. It was unacceptable behaviour from a grown man!

Before she could decide, Zibu put an arm around her shoulder. "Right then," he said. "If you're not her boyfriend, then you should leave and she should stay. There's no-" He didn't finish. He couldn't. Daoming Si moved so quickly Katie only saw a blur of his fist going past her head and made contact with Zibu's face then he smashed Zibu's face straight into a corner of a table. Katie and everyone else shrieked.

"Daoming Si!" Shancai screamed at him. "You're crazy! Stay away from us!" The group helped Zibu, who was still surprisingly conscious after that blow to the face, up onto his feet and out of the restaurant, with his nose bleeding heavily. Katie and Daoming Si were the only ones left in the restaurant. The rest of the customers had fled earlier.

When she got over the shock of the events over the last two minutes, Katie couldn't even begin to describe her feelings right now! She was absolutely furious. FURIOUS at him. What the heck was wrong with him? She knew he could be aggressive but this was a whole new level of insanity! It was her turn to glare at him as he stood unmoving with his eyes looking forward and both his jaw and fists clenched. He didn't want to meet her eyes.

"Have you completely lost your mind?" Katie wanted to scream but all that came out was a surprisingly steady cold voice. "Why did you do that?"

"He touched you. I couldn't help it. He can't touch you." His voice was just as cold as hers.

"He touched my shoulder and arm. Whatever. It still doesn't give you the right to smash his nose in. Why do you care anyway?"

"I've told you before. I like you and I care about you. I can't stand someone else touching you. Doesn't that mean anything to you?"

Katie felt a twinge of guilt and that made her madder. How dare he put this one on her, pinning the blame of his actions on her instead. "No," she retorted angrily. She was so angry her eyes started welling up with hot tears. "No, it doesn't. I don't care what or who you care about. I don't want to be a part of it. You should be ashamed of yourself, Daoming Si. You've done many things but that was possibly the worst!" She stormed out of the restaurant and noticed the other boys were seated outside. They looked up when she appeared. "And you lot should put a collar and leash on that rabid friend of yours!" She stormed off.

* * *

The next afternoon, Daoming Si was dragging his feet through the hospital. That Zibu guy had been admitted here yesterday after the thrashing. _It was only his nose_, he thought, frustrated and annoyed. _Maybe his face somewhere too but what a wimp._ He found out from Lei this morning who was pretty sour at him after he got a severe lashing from Shancai for not helping to hold Daoming Si back at the restaurant yesterday. In fact, everyone was in trouble over it but he was in deepest shit of them all.

Firstly, Katie didn't speak to him afterward. She didn't reply his texts or pick up or returned his calls. He tried looking for her during lunch and between and after classes on campus today but she was nowhere to be found. He was sure she was avoiding him on purpose now.

Secondly, Shancai and her friends were furious at him. He had to give a damn even though he didn't want to because Shancai was Lei's girlfriend after all, AND practically Katie's best and only girl friend.

Thirdly, even Ximen and Meizuo gave him a lecture about his behaviour and severely reminded him that if he wanted to make things right with Katie, he needed to at least apologise to Zibu for his actions. Ximen said no girl in their right mind would forgive or forget that so easily so he had better start somewhere.

So here he was dreading to meet the scumbag after class. He figured since he couldn't find Katie or face Shancai and her friends yet, he might as well look up the loser and see if he could patch anything up. He wasn't hopeful. Most people he had beaten up in his life would bear a lifetime grudge against him or they would run from him so far he never had the chance to apologise, if he bothered to apologise at all. He didn't care for most of them, or what happened to them thereafter.

He found the room and entered without knocking. He was surprised to see Katie there but he quickly became mad at what lied before him. Katie was pressed up against the wall with Zibu in front of her, only inches from her face because he had one arm held against the wall next to her head. This was too close for his comfort! Was he trying to stop her from leaving? Was he making the moves on her? Every thought made his blood boil and he forgot why he came here in the first place. That's it!

"Zibu, you scumbag!" Daoming Si said loudly and went at Zibu with a clenched fist, ready to give him another beating. Katie lunged herself at him, keeping him from reaching Zibu. "Let me at him!"

"Daoming Si!" she shrieked. "Stop! Just stop. He wasn't doing anything."

It was then that he realised she had wrapped her arms around him tightly and pressing her entire being against him to hold him off. The tension that went through his body before started to dissipate at her touch. He still had a fist at the ready though.

"Tell me then," he said, still eyeing Zibu. "What were you doing? It looked pretty intimate from where I was standing." She only whimpered a little but said nothing else. "What did you say or do to her?" He asked Zibu.

Zibu shrugged his shoulders as if this was all a joke, which made Daoming Si more furious but he still couldn't move with Katie on him. "Nothing," Zibu replied half-heartedly. "I tried to make the moves on her …" he taunted and searched Daoming Si for a reaction. "… but she told me she was dating you now. That you are her boyfriend. I don't mess with girls with boyfriends. That's my rule. But I wouldn't have been able to get it out of her if she wasn't forced into a corner." He went back to his hospital bed. Daoming Si fought a small smile creeping over his face. "You're welcome, Daoming Si." He gestured a curtsy from a sitting position on the bed.

"Is this true?" Daoming Si asked her but she didn't respond. "Hello? Anyone there?" He rapped her on the head impatiently. What is it with women? "I'm talking to you."

She repelled from him, agitated. "You are ridiculous!" she started to storm off again. He wondered if her ankle was getting any better from all this stomping about. She stopped and turned to Zibu. "I'm sorry again about what happened. Have a speedy recovery, but you were an ass for forcing that out of me. That's one thing Daoming Si was right about you: being an ass." Zibu smirked, unfazed. She looked at Daoming Si squarely in the eye. "I hope you're here to apologise to Zibu. Make it a good one." She left the room.

"Wait!" Daoming Si took two strides to try and catch up to her then remembered what she said and what he was here for. He shot Zibu a sincere look. "Sorry about your face." Then he went to chase up to Katie who was walking incredibly fast for a half-cripple. He finally caught up to her as they reached the hospital entrance. "Hey, wait up!" He reached out and just managed to grab hold of her arm. "What's your hurry?"

Katie looked up at the blue sky in exasperation. "Oh, I don't know," she said, dolloped with sarcasm. "Maybe I'm trying to get away from you. I've been doing a pretty good job all day. Exhausting but it was well worth it."

"Are you still mad at me?" he asked cautiously. She was fiery when she was mad. She reminded him of his sister who could be an absolute bitch to him when she was in her worst moods.

"Yes," she said frankly. "I am mad at you still. You have the nastiest temper I've ever known someone to possess. Why do you do what you do? Is it impossible for you to exercise some tolerance or self-control? Your behaviour is suffocating and insufferable."

He took the biggest breath his lungs could manage. _Daoming Si_, he told himself quietly. J_ust apologise and this will all be fine. Ximen said girls like apologies._ "Katie, I'm sorry about what happened yesterday." He continued after swallowing a large lump in his throat. "It was wrong to hit Zibu. I was rash and unreasonable." There, that should do it.

It worked. He saw her body relaxing and she wasn't glaring daggers at him anymore. She rolled her eyes and groaned in exhaustion then started walking off. Another deep breath, he strode up behind her and took her hand firmly. She didn't pull away. She just kept walking. Okay, this was a good start.

"Are you hungry?" he asked softly. She nodded. "Let's get something to eat. I know a nice place close by." They went to his car and drove to a diner that served coffee just the way he liked it plus appetisers and mains that he approved. She was quiet the whole way there which was unusual for her. Even when he was at his angriest in the past, she would speak up and then he thought she was annoying and couldn't shut up. He wished she would talk the way she did before now.

"What are you thinking about?" Daoming Si asked after they made their order.

Katie looked at him seriously. "Daoming Si," she started and he expected bad news. "Have you actually thought about what happens in about six months?" He shot her a queried look. He didn't understand. "You should recall that I'm an exchange student. This is my last semester here then I have to go back to London. Have you thought about that?"

Daoming Si was stumped. No, he didn't. He had been so infatuated with proving himself to her so she would accept him and they could be together. He had completely forgot about that fact. But it didn't matter to him. He made a decision right there and then. "I don't care about that," he replied confidently. "My family's business is based in London. I'll go there with you and we'll figure it out. It's a whopping six months away."

"Your optimism continues to surprise me," Katie told him while shaking her head. "I don't think it would go that smoothly." She sat back in her chair and folded her arms. "I'm not sure I like the uncertainty."

He felt that she was now well over the Zibu incident so he relaxed. "You, on the other hand, worry too much. You can count on me. That's what matters."

She looked at him and started to smile. The one that he loved so much. "Daoming Si, where on earth do you find that kind of confidence to say things like that? That is a huge promise. You have a lot of responsibility on your shoulders to keep that promise now."

"I keep all my promises," he said. "All of them." He hoped the look in her eyes meant she believed him.


End file.
